In the Shadows
by Some Guy In An Ambulance
Summary: Gecko Moria managed to be the weakest Shichibukai despite having such a broken ability. Let's see what the "Ruler of Shadows" can really do. (Villain SI)
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: Murder, kidnapping, slavery/imprisonment. Canon Gecko Moria literally cannot make zombies without imprisoning people to a life without sunshine. Not to mention, he gains another persons skills when he absorbs their shadow.**

**This story offends whiteknight simps, and harem loving edgelords. If you can stomach typical One Piece shenanigans, and M rated violence/topics, welcome aboard. **

* * *

I was having a strange dream. Everything appeared much smaller than me, my neck felt much longer, and three rejects from the Nightmare Before Christmas were standing before me. Munchkins like Oogie Boogies minions.

"Aaahhh, what a bad dream."

"Greetings master!" said the red minion.

"That's marvelous master!" bowed the blue minion.

"Master has the best sleep! I'm so jealous!" the yellow minion bowed from his knees like someone out of a Japanese anime.

Three chipmunk like voices quickly greeted me rapid fire and in quick succession. Each trying to out due the last in sucking up to me? What kind of dream gives you such ugly servants?

"Since the last Night Attack." Red picked up where yellow stopped.

"It's been four days, and you've been asleep that time." Blue quickly followed.

"So, you have four days' worth of meals, Moria-sama." Yellow finished.

'Moria-sama?!' Like that big ugly pale guy from One Piece who got his ass kicked after the water seven arc? I put my hands to my face in wonder. Gloved claws reached up, and I gave a tentative tug on my horns. Looking down, I can see the massive round mass that is now my flesh. Strange that I didn't have a hard time breathing or moving considering all my fat.

Keeping up with their strange manner of talking, the three interrupted my quickly panicking thoughts.

"Our target this time is spirited!"

"They're the talk of the world after taking down Enies Lobby."

"I'm sure they will be of use for us Moria-sama!"

* * *

I tried to calm down while eating the food they served me, wracking my brain for ideas. Ignoring the fact that I was served a hunk of meat larger than my arm. I began to talk out loud to center my thoughts. "Luffy is on this island to kick my ass, and recover Brook's shadow. Why God, why? Focus! Gotta get my priorities straight. Let's create a list. I just woke up as Gecko Moria, the Shichibukai, owner of the Kage Kage no Mi. Moria has a Paramecia that lets him manifest and manipulate shadows, create zombies, and swap with his near invulnerable doppleman. Okay, I can work with this."

The first attack that came to mind was to copy Shikimaru from Naruto. Willing my shadow to strike out, I commanded one of the giant stuffed toys in the room to move as I moved. "This would be a good technique to use if I had a gun." Next, I snaked my shadow around the stuffed animal's neck, and twisted it off. It's a good thing the shadows I control don't follow the same pesky rules that hold the Nara clan style jutsu back.

Next, I tried forming doppleman, and he appeared before me, just like in the show. I directed a bit of my will, and he split up into hundreds of bat shaped balls with wings and fangs. Directing them all to attack a pillar, they chewed through it in seconds.

Hmm, controlling this swarm is kind of like an RTS game. Directing your attention with a large number of units. It will take some practice to accurately control a group of shadows in a 1 vs many scenario. For now, this will have to do for offensive attacks. What I really need to practice is switching places with doppleman before-

"Good news master!" Genuflected Red.

"Prisoners great shadow khan!" Blue raised his hands in excitement.

"Good news- Prisoners great-" Yellow stuttered, his pallor turning a sickly shade of green.

Red and Blue looked as if they'd seen a ghost, they quaked where they stood.

Clearly shaken, Yellow began to speak "Moria-sama," but was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Here's the prisoners Moria-sama." In walked a giant spider monkey dragging two heavily depressed men trapped in webbing. The head and arms of a monkey with the body of a spider, I'm not even shocked anymore. That begs the question, why did it bring in two depressed guys to see me? Oh. Oh no! That's Zoro and Sanji!

* * *

Sweat poured in endless torrents down my back as I paced Moria's, dance chamber turned bedroom turned throne room. I'd done it. I'd taken their shadows, and placed each shadow in a corpse. A mad cackle escaped my lips, I barely noticed the small squeak from Yellow, I was so engrossed in my worry.

I tried to rationalize it. If I didn't take those shadows putting them into a brief coma, they would've woken from the pain, and kicked my ass. Do I kill them now? No, that's foolish, Luffy would probably literally murder me if I did that. And when my minions capture Luffy…I can't kill him either! Garp would kill me in one fist, not to mention Dragon.

Maybe I don't have to fight Luffy? Yes. Yes! This plan will be perfect.

"Quick Red, summon my Generals to me! Blue and Yellow, wrap these two in chains so tight they have no wiggle room. Cover their mouths with a gag, and place them within a cage." I commanded. A genuine smile broke upon my face. Perhaps I'm not doomed after all.

* * *

While waiting for Doctor Hogback, Absalom, and Perona, I reclined upon my throne. The lazy SOB that Moria is, my "throne" was a giant bean bag. Have to hand it to the guy, at least he knew how to relax. I played with my shadow, forming shapes, and intricate sceneries, on a whim, I decided to play with the shadows created by the candles on the walls. I suddenly stopped; my mouth agape. Moria is such an idiot, he's the 'Ruler of Shadows' and he never used the shadows of an inanimate object to attack!? I facepalmed out of sheer stupidity.

As I pondered the newfound uses for my power, I was interrupted. Again.

"Oi, untie this rope, you huge leek!" An enraged Straw Hat Luffy shouted at me.

My ire escaped me and it was as if a bucket of ice water was dumped on my back. Shocked out of my stupor, I eyed a small man in golden armor. He sat before me in a cage and covered in webbing. Black hair, a scar beneath the left eye, and that voice. There's no mistaking it. That's Straw Hat Luffy. How did Moria's second rate crew capture this guy? No. I'll leave explaining how Moria's crew captured him to Oda, for now I have to focus.

"Give Usopp, Nami, Chopper, Sanji, and Zoro back to me! Where have you taken them?! His voice rang out in anger.

Those eyes. There's so much determination in them, I can't help but tremble for a second. No, I must maintain this façade if I'm to succeed. Time to break from cannon, God Usopp, don't fail me now.

"Ki shi shi shi shi! So, you're Straw Hat Luffy? Excellent! Simply wonderful! The man who challenged Enies Lobby, rescued Nico Robin from the clutches of the World Government, and defeated the Shichibukai Crocodile. You have my respect!"

"Then let my friends go! And give me back Brook's shadow!"

"Not so fast Straw Hat. It's the pirate's rule to take whatever they want, to live free on the sea." I answered in a patronizingly bored tone, as if I was lecturing him.

As he was about to do something I'd regret, like chew through the bars, I quickly interrupted any action he was about to take.

"I said I respect you Straw Hat, what you did to the World Government took guts. I'll give you your friends back, and let you sail free. However, that one you call Brook, his shadow is mine. It has been for the last five years. If you want it, I propose we make a wager." I kept the same cheesy grin on my face during the entire exchange. Please accept, please accept, please accept.

"What kind of wager?" Luffy now looked at me with a suspicious, yet curious glint in his eye.

"Simple! I have a swordsman, and the fame of Rurono Zoro as an up and coming pirate is well known. I challenge your Straw Hat Pirates to a swordsman vs swordsman duel! If you win, you get Brook's shadow. If I win, I keep it. Simple, no?"

He seemed to think about it for a second. I tried a different approach.

"Wouldn't it be cool to have two crews settle an issue with their top expert swordsman?" I said with a sly grin.

My palms started to sweat a bit as I saw his face darken. This is my final attack, if this doesn't work, I'll have to fight him for real. "And the winner will have a feast in his name!"

"UOOOHHHH! You've got a deal Mory! Zoro will kick whoever you send out's ass!"

(End Chapter)


	2. Chapter 2

"That's Moria-sama to you, fool!" a bratty voice called out.

I startled, bratty voice…a sweat drop of embarrassment rolled down the back of my head.

I had completely forgotten Hogback, Absalom, and Perona were in the room with me. My entire focus had been upon Luffy when he interrupted my musings.

"That's right, Moria-sama won't leave you unpunished." A guy with a lion mouth answered.

"Fos fos fos fos!" Hogback laughed menacingly.

Seriously guys, did you all also ignore my entire dialogue with Luffy?! I'll remember this!

With a flourish, I released Zoro and Sanji's shadows.

"Ki shi shi shi shi! Blue, Yellow, release the green haired, and blonde prisoners from their cages, and untie the chains."

"Right away your terribleness!" Blue went to the cages.

"Your wish is my command master. You need only order it, and I will obey. I'll follow you until my second death, why a minion like me couldn't ask for a more merciful powerful and suave master." Yellow kept going, and going, and going.

"Enough!" a sharp glare sent him on his way. I swear, managing this crew is going to be the death of me.

"Zoro, Sanji! Hey you bastard, you said you'd free _all _of my friends!"

At just that moment three figures fell out of Perona's minion and stuffed bear Kumashi.

A slap rang out.

"Damnit Usopp!"

"I said I was sowwy!"

"Uh, guys." A child's voice attempted to interrupt the quarrel.

"The space was too tight Nami, I had to grab onto something for balance!"

"Guys!"

A duo of shouts rang out "What!"

"Hiiiii!"

And I had the pleasure of watching a scared Usopp and Chopper hide behind a teenage girl.

Like a magician revealing a card, I shifted my clawed hand towards the trio.

"Your missing crew." A shit eating grin adorned my face.

* * *

"Absalom, empty the graveyard of zombies. There's to be a duel between Ryuma and their swordsman to settle a wager of mine."

"Yes, Moria-sama!"

"Perona, send your ghosts to search for Ryuma, and summon him to the graveyard. If you spot a black-haired woman traveling with a tall blue haired guy, tell them their Captain is a guest and that we will be at the graveyard."

"Sure thing Moria-sama." A blasé response from Perona.

"Red, send out the word. If any of my soldiers comes across a member of the Straw Hat crew, they're to be treated as my guests."

I ignored his reply, and kept up my current tempo, ordering Blue and Yellow.

"Blue, prepare chairs and tables at the graveyard."

"Yellow, start cooking a feast to be ready at the end of the battle in the graveyard."

I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes, sinking into my bean bag. Ahh, Moria isn't all that crazy wanting to rely on his minions. Delegating is its own pleasure. He was however, perhaps a tad unrealistic wishing to be the Pirate King with just this amount of effort. Damn if being lazy isn't great though. I could get used to this. I didn't forget anything important, did I?

A loud grinding noise, and then a sudden snap grated against my ears. Nope, nothing can break me out of this relaxed state. Everything is going according to plan.

"Nami! Chopper! Usopp!" a yell echoed throughout the entire room. The sound of chains snapping soon followed.

"Luffy!"

"Ah ha~"

"I was here to bust you out Luffy, it was all part of my genius plan!"

"Uohh, really Usopp, so cool!"

"Yeah, so cool!"

My eyes snapped open, and before me was a scene of laughter, and happiness. Stars formed in Chopper and Luffy's eyes as they looked at Usopp. Nami had a put-upon look, and crossed arms, but a small smile was on her lips.

Unchained, Zoro stood to the side smirking with his arms crossed. Sanji kept making moon eyes at Nami, and swooning about her while talking bad about "that perverted lion guy."

My fists clenched. Even if I wanted friendship like that in this world, it's not happening. Not with a reputation like mine. This guy's been on the planet for forty-eight years, and it hasn't really sunk in yet that I'm double my old age. Moria's got to have a lot of baggage, allies? Enemies. Lovers? Can't see that last one. People will fear me alone because of a power set like mine. My power literally creates zombies, and makes a person prisoner of the night for the rest of their lives. If they so much as stuck a toe in the sunlight, it would get vaporized.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, they had finally started to settle down. Ugh, I take it back, it's already painstaking enough managing this crew, I can't imagine what it would be like if I had someone like Luffy or Usopp as one of my officers. Sadly, it seems I already have a Sanji, an entitled brat, and an egotistical doctor. A clawed hand covered my face in despair.

Oh, a distraction!

"Moria-sama"

"Yes! Ahem, yes, come in Perona, you have word from Ryuma?"

"He's at the graveyard as you ordered Moria-sama."

"Excellent." I mimicked Springfield's Mr. Berns.

"Also, Moria-sama."

A whole new round of shouts greeted Perona's arrival.

"Robin, Franky, Brook!"

"Enough!" I bellowed.

The entire hall went silent, all eyes were on me. Oh yeah, still new to this whole Shichibukai thing, and being considered a "dangerous" and "mysterious" man. I coughed a couple times to buy some time.

I tilted my head up and to the side while adopting a smirk of superiority.

"Our warrior is ready and waiting. Are you prepared for your challenge Straw Hats?"

The joking atmosphere from before instantly disappeared, and the crew firmed up, with looks of solidarity.

"We'll get Brook's shadow back Mory!"

"Hmph." Zoro remained with his arms crossed, smirking.

Is that his only pose!

"Don't mess this up shitty swordsman." Sanji lit a cigarette.

"You got this!"

"Yeah!" Chopper and Usopp supported from the sidelines.

"You guys…" Brook cried even though he doesn't have eyes.

"Let's go!" Luffy raised his fist, and his crew joined him for a cheer.

* * *

After their pep talk, we made short work to the graveyard. For this contest to go off without a hitch, I'd rather not have a large portion of my castle sliced in half, thank you very much.

"Please, take a seat at the tables my minions prepared."

The crew walked by; Chopper sported a banner saying "Go Zoro." Usopp had a foam finger that read "Zoro #1." Where are they getting these things?! Even my crew is getting involved!

"Go, go Ryuma, go, go!" Some zombies chanted on the side. They also had banners with his name on it!

As we sat down, Zoro, and Ryuma did the stereotypical stare off. It was so quiet, not even the dead made a peep. They were holding the banners completely motionless.

Usopp sneezed, and the fight was on.

Zoro wore a face of pure elation as he exchanged blows with Ryuma.

So he can have different expressions!

"Aubade Coup Droit!" Ryuma executed his special thrust attack. The surrounding headstones were instantly obliterated. This is great. With this new body, I feared I would be too far behind, but I can easily follow these attacks. After I pack on some muscle, maybe I'll be able to fight with physical attacks mixed with my shadow attacks.

"Hn, you're lucky I don't have my third sword right now. That one in your hands will be its replacement" A trickle of blood leaked from Zoro's forehead where a stray piece of concrete had hit.

"You're a talented swordsman, I'll give you that, yoh hoh hoh hoh! This is one of the 21 great swords, meito Shusui. As long as this blade is within my grasp, I'm invincible."

The two clashed blades again and again. Worryingly, Ryuma wasn't losing steam. He took several strikes from Zoro, but they were shallow cuts at best. Meanwhile, Ryuma had the upper hand in strength, while Zoro was faster. All this despite Zoro regaining his shadow! What's going on, this could ruin my whole plan if Ryuma wins.

Eventually their fight became so intense that they started taking it into the crowd. Zombie limbs started to fly about as their blades were like tornadoes, uncaring for who fell upon their path.

Ryuma unleashed Brook's ultimate sword technique "Prelude Au Fer" a sword bending technique that can bypass ones guard.

"Hah, hah." Zoro breathed heavily. Blood leaked from his mouth, and he sported a large gash on his torso.

"Nigiri Hirameki Maguma!" Zoro shouted out his special attack. Performing a lightning fast sideways slash that quickly transitioned to bringing his two swords downward.

"Indeed, you are a most worthy opponent. This sword calls to you, seeking a new master. Take my sword Roronoa!"

The battered form of Ryuma rushed Zoro. His clothes were in tatters, slashes evident across his body. One of his arms joining the multitude of zombie limbs lying about.

"Let's finish this! Yoh hoh hoh hoh hoh!"

The fight had carried them all the way over to a ditch where we lost sight of them. Brook's shadow returned to the skeleton man as we hurried over. By the time we reached them to watch the finale, I heard Nami gasp.

Before us lay an unconscious Roronoa Zoro, a sword impaled above his heart. Ryuma was completely decapitated his head rolled to the side. The blade of another sword was seen sticking out of his back.

"Good news for you Angel, your crew won! Let's get married!" Absalom extended his arms, and ran towards Nami with a kissy face.

He was immediately kicked to the side by Sanji.

"Not on your life, shitty lion."

Now is seriously not the time for your antics Absalom! If you keep making scenes like this, you might outlive your usefulness.

"Doctor Hogback! Emergency surgery! Now!"

"Right away Moria-sama," as he said this, he went to go collect the now lifeless corpse of Ryuma.

"Not Ryuma, the green haired one!" Impatience clear in my voice. I've had enough with this insubordination.

Hogback went absolutely still for a moment, his grin frozen in place.

"Of course, Moria-sama."

"Eh, Moria-sama." A shy voice entreated.

"What!"

"Uh, ah, that is to say, ano. A Mr. Kuma is here to see you sir!"

* * *

**AN: How was the fight scene? Any suggestions for how I can improve my fights? Would you prefer the special attacks to be in bold?**


	3. Chapter 3

_Last time_

_"Eh, Moria-sama." A shy voice entreated._

_"What!"_

_"Uh, ah, that is to say, ano. A Mr. Kuma is here to see you sir!"_

* * *

My eyes bulged, how can a zombie-tree with such a crooked face have such a fairy-like personality! I guess it's true not to judge a book by its cover.

"Zoro is my patient, I'll not let you treat him 'Hogwash' you're a disgrace to Doctor's everywhere!"

"Fos Fos Fos! Moria-sama gave me a direct order to save your nakama's life! Don't be so mean Doctor Chopper."

The sounds of Chopper and Hogback arguing brought me out of my stupor. I looked around to assess the situation. Chopper was arguing with Hogback, that's what brought me out of my stupor.

Luffy was standing next to Zoro.

"Shi shi shi, Zoro's tough, he'll make it through."

Absalom was butting heads with Sanji.

"Give me my Angel! Angel, I love you! No, Goddess!"

"She ain't your Goddess. She's my Goddess, isn't that right, Nami-swan~"

Franky was talking to Brook.

"Look Brook, you've got your shadow back, Super!" He posed lifting his arms.

"It's all thanks to Zoro. I'm so happy to have nakama again!"

Usopp was looking at me, quickly turning around when we made eye contact and pretending to be invested in Chopper's conversation.

"So, Miss Ghost Lady, what do you do for fun."

"Oh, I play in my garden, and collect cute servants!"

Perona was speaking to Robin…Okay. I clapped my hands. Plan time.

* * *

"Absalom, stop making a fool of yourself, and see that the winners of my wager receive their feast." Absalom looked away from Sanji in embarrassment, and answered in affirmative.

"Hogback, offer your expertise, but let Chopper be the lead doctor on this one."

"Perona, see to it that the Straw Hats ship is removed from the webbing. Open the gates for them whenever they'd like to leave. I have a very important meeting with my fellow Shichibukai, Bartholomew Kuma. So, don't interrupt me unless the island is about to sink!"

Kuma will most likely be at the top of my tower, and I have to meet him before he grows suspicious and searches the island. Alright, no time like when your life is in danger to unlock the power within. I have to learn how to switch with Doppleman and have him fly to my chambers. Easy.

I swaggered away from the gathering with as much confidence as I could project towards the edge of the graveyard. My line of sight blocked from the gathering; it was time to practice this ability.

"Shadow body switch go!"…nothing happened.

"Fly! Up up and away shadow! Shazam! Go! Go teleport, go!" I wiggled my body about, and finally, I felt something different. Sudden vertigo had me almost vomit all the food I ate earlier.

"Uhh" I reached to cradle my head but what I felt with my hands was something slightly cool, and not at all consoling my rushing vision. I took a steadying breath, and looked up. There standing before me was Moria's body with Doppelman's head.

"Ah!" shocked, my flesh and blood body jumped up. I looked down, and saw that my head was attached to the rest of Doppleman! In my haste, I had forgotten that Moria could selectively swap body parts with his shadow. Curious enough, the hood thing that Moria wears traveled alongside me. This ability might be useful to transfer objects across long distances, something to look into later.

Without anytime to play around, this will have to do. I left my body with the Doppleman head at the base of the castle, and willed the Doppleman body with my head to fly up to my throne room.

Slipping in through the window I spot a cowering Red at the entrance to the room, his brothers performing my tasks. In the center of the room stood a man reading a book. He was wearing an odd hat that resembled an upside-down tupperware. Long dark brown hair flowed to the sides of his chin, and his eyes had a blank soulless look to them. He was quite literally larger than life. We're both similar in height, but his aura was stifling. The 'Tyrant' indeed.

Take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. How I'm breathing when my body is at the bottom of the tower briefly assails my attention span. But the snap of a book echoing throughout the hall starts the conversation. It's show time.

"Bartholomew Kuma, for you to come all this way out to see me. It must be important; would you like some tea?" A glance at Red, and he bows.

"Gecko Moria," a surprisingly soft voice comes from the powerful man. "If you could go anywhere, where would it be?"

"Red, no tea for the government lackey! I'll take two sugars in mine." This punk, I'm trying to be polite here. Why did I insult him? Stick to the plan.

"Regarding Crocodile's demotion from the Shichibukai, the successor has been made."

"Hohh, Red, make Kuma a cup of tea. You know, the government could've just called me on the den den mushi."

"The successor's name is: Marshal D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard." This bastard ignored me!

"He is already becoming quite a disturbance in the world, though the news may not have penetrated this fog."

"Your tea Moria-sama"

"Thank you Red"

"He left Whitebeard's crew; he has already shown that his strength is real."

'Sip' "Ah, the tea is too hot!"

"A thousand apologies Moria-sama!"

"Teach has captured Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, Portgas D. Ace, delivering him to Impel Down."

I spit my tea out at the awful flavor.

"Here's a towel Moria-sama."

"Good work Red."

"With the defeat of Crocodile, and after the events at Enies Lobby, the World Government has been carefully monitoring the Straw Hat Pirates' movements. Following the log from Water 7 to the Mermaid Island, it was highly likely that they would be stopped here."

"Your point being?" I answered in a bored tone.

"Don't you get it? Do you understand what is worrying the World Government?"

I maintained a carefree attitude, and pretended to examine my nails. While he tried to spook me. Suddenly, his face shadowed over, and his voice dropped several octaves.

"They are afraid that another Shichibukai may be toppled by the Straw Hats."

"The World Government, worried about me? What a joke! They're not worried about _me_. They only care that if I were to fall to the Straw Hats that they would lose face!" Spittle flew out of my mouth, as my tea spilled everywhere.

'Sip' Kuma took a long sip of his tea. "If the need arises, I wouldn't be opposed to coming to your aid."

This fucker right here!

* * *

At the graveyard, a true Straw Hat Pirate party was underway.

"Shitty lion! You call this food! There's no heart in it! No soul! What do you call this! Sanji yelled at Absolom, he grabbed Sanji's lapel. "Huh?! You call this food?!" In Sanji's hands was a plate containing a crusty white paste with melted butter flowing down the sides.

"Mnnnmmmpp" Absalom mumbles.

"Un?! I can't hear you!"

"Mnnn-mash-mash potatoes." An embarrassed and defeated tone croaked out of Absalom's throat.

"I'll show you what real food is." A determined glint entered Sanji's eye.

A cry echoed throughout the graveyard "More meat Sanji!" At the center table, Luffy was a machine. Systematically eating everything within his grasp. As several zombies were reaching for their food, or in some cases eating their half-finished food, stretched arms reached across the table snapping food into Luffy's gullet.

Further down the table Zoro had a bandage around his torso, and was swinging his new sword, ignoring the world around him.

"Fos fos fos fos, excellent work Doctor Chopper!"

"Oh, you! Zoro would've taken at least three more days to recover if it was just with my skills. D-Doctor Hogbag!" Chopper wore a bashful expression, and kicked a rock.

"Fos fos fos fos!"

When Perona returned from her task, she went up to start a one-sided conversation with Robin.

"Hey Robin, what do _you_ do for fun?"

"I like to read." Robin stared blankly off into the distance when giving her reply. For every question or statement Perona made, Robin would reply with a three word answer or less. In most cases she would say "uh huh, yep, or mhm."

"Yoh hoh hoh hoh! I'm a living skeleton dancing with the dead!"

"This new table I devised is, Super!"

"Hey, leave some of that chow for us Zombie Generals!"

"Yeah!"

"Shi shi shi shi!" Luffy placed a finger under his nose and laughed.

"Huh, Robin? Leave? Mory wouldn't do that to us, we won his bet! But if I fight both of them, then I'll be closer to becoming the Pirate King! Okay Robin, if you really think it will be anything like that Aokiji guy, then I guess we can leave."

* * *

Blue ran into the room with a sense of urgency. "Sad news sire, the Straw Hats have left before the feast was ended. I saw their ship sail away with a telescope."

"Feast?" Kuma utters one word, and stares at me with his soulless eyes. Does he ever blink?!

"What, imbecile, you let them escape my trap!?" I backhanded Blue across the room. To sell it, I continued to berate my minions, and tossing them around the room.

"Looks like I'm no longer needed here." Kuma walked to the balcony, stared into the horizon for a moment, and with a pop, he was gone.

"Few" I wiped some sweat from my forehead. That monologuing bastard is finally out of here.

"Good job minions!"

"Thank you Moria-sama"

"Yeah yeah" I give them a lazy wave of my hand intent on sitting in that bean bag chair. "Blue, go clean up the feast, and tell Absalom I want that graveyard restored. Red, wake me up tomorrow."

Having given my orders, I can finally relax. "Fuuu" I blew air out of my mouth. With that taken care of, I have nothing to worry about. I can just sit back and let my reputation take care of the rest. I wonder if Shichibukai have a good retirement package? I'll think about it with a clear head tomorrow.

I heard rapid movement right by my side. Looking down from my bean bag chair, I see Red hopping from side to side, like he has to pee. What? Zombies don't have to go to the bathroom…or do they?

"Red" At the sound of my voice, Red stops dancing, and trembles. "Do zombies have to go to the bathroom?!"

"Huh? Oh, no, that's ridiculous Moria-sama. Uhm, master, I was wondering, did Kuma say that the Whitebeard's Second Division Commander was imprisoned in Impel Down when you spilt your tea?" Red adopted a look like I was about to hit him. Heh, I wouldn't hit a subordinate over this, it's just spilt tea.

Wait. Impel Down? Oh balls, that means. That means!

Marineford.

* * *

**An: And thus, comes an end to our interaction with the Straw Hats for a while. (In case you were lost this chapter, Hint: Robin can make ears with her power.)**

**I have a poll up on my profile page, will Absalom find true love? You decide. **

**Retconning Hogback's laugh to "Fos fos fos fos." And Moria's to "Ki shi shi shi."**

**I spent like 6 hours writing this chapter, mad respect to those guys who write way more than me. I recommend all those people in my favorites list, they've got talent. I keep spelling Absalom's name as Absolom, damn, he might as well be a pokemon. **

**Thanks for the reviews/comments.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Last time_

_Wait. Impel Down? Oh balls, that means. That means!_

_Marineford._

* * *

In something like three to four weeks, Ace is going to be executed. The World Government is going to summon the Shichibukai to take part in the Whitebeard war. Maybe I can say I didn't get the message here in the Florian Triangle? But if I don't participate, I'd have my title stripped. If that happens, I'll be hunted by the Marines, bounty hunters, and any pirate with a grudge. There's no way a guy of my height, not to mention truly horrific appearance could lay low.

I felt a shiver go down my spine. I'm going to have too fight at Marineford. Suddenly this bean bag chair isn't so comforting. As a matter of fact, I haven't felt comfortable since I sat down in it…Why am I shivering? A look of realization dawned upon my face. Doppleman!

Alright, lets do this one more time. Focus. I clenched my fists, and a vein on my forehead became noticeably visible. 'Hn!' I suddenly transitioned to the entrance of Hogback's mansion. The vertigo is much less this time now that I was expecting it. But I feel a dampness on my chest. Looking down my shirt, is splattered in a reddish brown paste with a few chunks of meat. Knees weak, palms sweaty. Turns out I _did _vomit on myself when I switched bodies, only it came out of Doppleman's mouth.

"Moria-sama! Moria-sama!" Yellow cried for my attention as he ran out of the mansion.

"Terrible news Moria-sama!" he looked more stressed than usual; this might be bad. Are we under attack?!

"Status report Yellow!"

"Yes sire! Our coffers, they're nearly empty."

"Wait, what?" So, we're not under attack? Oh happy day.

"It's just like I said Moria-sama, we have less than 10,000,000 beris!" Eh, can't feel bad about money you never actually had. Ten million sounds pretty good, any amount of money with 'million' at the end does, honestly.

"I don't much see what the problem is Yellow." I didn't really care about money; I was a pirate with a zombie crew who owned an island. What could money buy that I need?

"B-b-but Moria-sama!" He fidgeted in place.

I felt bad for the little guy. He's only doing his job; loyalty is to be commended.

"Ha~ say your piece Yellow."

"It's like this…"

* * *

My eyes bulged, and I took a deep breath after learning how much this could hurt me. "NAAAAAMIIIIII!" That piece of shit thieving bitch! I smashed my fist on the floor, creating spiderweb cracks everywhere. She must've taken all the money during the feast! Ah! Damnit, damnit, damnit!

Yellow had to remind me what it meant to be a Shichibukai. So embarrassing. What are the rights and responsibilities of a Shichibukai? One, a Shichibukai has their bounty frozen, and all their past crimes forgiven by the government. Two, as a Shichibukai, you may act as a pirate with no recourse. You're only supposed to target other pirates, but everyone targets civilians if it's not in front of the Marine's faces. Three, the Shichibukai must aid the World Government when they call for assistance. Finally, and most pertinent to me is that the Shichibukai must pay a tithe every year, amounting to a minimum of 30,000,000 beri.

Barnacles. Dirty, barnacles. I was so caught up trying to get the Straw Hat's off my island, and not have my face caved in by Kuma that I forgot about the world's best burglar and cheat, Nami.

"How much time do we have before the Marine's debt collector's come for us?" My anger lost out to depression. Hopefully we don't have to borrow money from a bank to pay off the government. I had thought that debt was a problem exclusively from my old life. Now this, this is what true evil looks like.

Yellow maintained his pensive look.

"We have about three months, Moria-sama. At the rate that pirates are entering the Florian Triangle, I am uncertain if we will make enough money."

This sounds like something I'll need a second opinion on. No offense to Yellow, but he can be a bit slow.

"Summon the 'Terrible Three." I looked down at my still wet shirt.

"And tell them to meet at Hogbacks dining room!"

* * *

I had changed into a simple white shirt with the same overcoat, and black pants. Sadly, Moria didn't have much in terms of clothing, only one pair of boots. Something to steal, or maybe buy when I get some money. Damnit Nami!

One clean pair of clothes later, it was time to have an executive meeting. Outside the dining room, I could hear my officers. This is a good time to see how they act when I'm not around.

"You're perfect Cindry-chan, I couldn't ask for a more beautiful bride!" Hogback's voice was happier than I've ever heard.

I heard a crash, followed by a monotone voice filled with incredible scorn.

"I don't like dishes"

"Ah, ah, Cindry-chan! Not at me, ah cheh cheh cheh!" I could only imagine Hogback to be having dishes thrown at him. Should I take out Cindry's shadow, and put it back in to change her personality? I don't much need a doctor for zombies, but having a genius surgeon on my team is always a plus. Perhaps if he performs a service for me worthy of reward, I'll grant him a docile Cindry.

"Go easy on Kumashi, Perona!" A surprisingly deep and masculine voice sounds out. That must be Absalom. Ironic that such a big body like mine has such a high pitched and grating voice, while a circus reject like Absalom sounds like a manly man. Maybe I'll help the guy get a bride, he was the only loyal crew member of Moria's who followed him not just out of fear.

"Now announcing, the Monarch of Shadows, his magnificence, our lord and master, Moria-sama!" Blue announced me to the room.

Thanks Blue, not like I was eavesdropping or anything. Conversation inside the room instantly stopped.

It'll be just like presenting a power point, let's do this. Swaggering to the head of the table, I was disappointed to find that there were no chairs that fit my size. Guess I'm standing for this one. Once I arrived, and all attention was on me I really looked at my crew for the first time.

Sitting to my left was a relatively tall man with pointed ears, pointed teeth, and a long sharp nose. A surgical mask hung from his chin, and he was round like a blueberry. He wore a large fishnet shirt, some very revealing purple sweat pants, purple gloves, and a light purple fur cloak. Just by looking at him, I would assume he belongs on Newkama Land based on his looks, but his obsession with Cindry appears genuine.

Speaking of Cindry, she stood behind Hogback. Surprisingly docile around me. She also reminds me a lot of that girl from the Nightmare Before Christmas. Sally. Cindry is blonde, with a grey-blue skin tone. There are stitches across her body. She's not that important to me, but her continued existence is important for ensuring Hogback's loyalty.

Further down the table, Perona's ghosts are harassing Kumashi (apparently the name of Perona's stuffed zombie bear) behind her back. "Ah, stop it, stop it!" Kumashi flailed his arms. "Horo horo, horo horo." Perona's a slip of a girl, and owner of the Horo Horo no Mi, or Hollow-Hollow fruit, she honestly reminded me of a pimp. She wore a crown, had an umbrella cane, and wore royal colors, all the while showing off a good amount of her midriff. Not to mention how she treats her servants, hah hah.

Finally, my most loyal crew member, and owner of the Suke Suke no Mi, or Clear-Clear fruit sat on my right. Absalom. With is lion face, blonde hair, and red eyes, he'd probably intimidate most civilians with such an ugly face. He wore a button up white shirt, blue pants, a black coat, and the ugliest turban I've ever laid my eyes upon. His ability allows him to turn _anything _he's touching invisible. He has so much potential as an assassin, it's ludicrous. In my opinion, he probably has one of the most dangerous devil fruits in the world. He may be a super pervert similar to Jiraiya, but he's my super pervert. He should just get that lion mouth removed if he wants women.

After my quick survey of the room, it's time to see what my newly dubbed 'Terrible Three' think about our current situation.

"The Thriller Bark Pirates face a crisis not seen in years. During the feast, Cat Burglar Nami stole the bulk of our funds, managing to walk away with over 400,000,000 beri." Shocked expressions greeted my statement.

"We now have less than 10,000,000 in our vaults. Our minimum payment to the World Government is due in three months. Suggestions for how we are to raise that kind of money?"

I looked around the table, Hogback had lost his smirk, Perona had lost her pallor, and Absalom looked contemplative.

"Absalom, you have an idea? He looked shocked that I had asked him.

"Oh, well, I had a thought, Moria-sama. What if, what if we turned Thriller Bark into a resort island?"

Hmm, I could kind of see it, people do love to get scared in a safe environment. We already have the decor, and there's so many empty rooms in this mansion.

"It would be perfect Moria-sama, there would be beautiful women in bikini's! And I could serve as the chief of security!" Absalom's voice kept rising as he got more and more excited by the prospect.

This guy, all he wanted to do was cop a feel this whole time. He had no intention of turning this into a haunted house resort, he wanted a beach resort!

"Denied, any other suggestions?" I started to worry, if I don't get that money, than I'll lose the immunities that being a Shichibukai grant me.

Perona decided to chime in, "You could always borrow from a bank, it's only twenty million, we'll get it back in no time."

Only twenty million?! Don't you know how banks operate! They're like loan sharks, offering you their money, then some months later, bam! You're paying double what you borrowed.

"Absolutely not, I will not rely on a World Government institution to fund our crew!" I gnashed my teeth. There's got to be a way. I look at Hogback, he's being berated by Cindry. Hmm.

"_Doctor _Hogback, we need money ASAP, would you be willing to sell your skills to the highest bidder to fund this crew?" He had a look of bitter resentment at my insinuation. Crap! That's right, I had forgot! He quit servicing the public because he was too popular, and came to resent the masses. Time for damage control.

"Only a select few clients, I assure you Doctor Hogback. As a matter of fact, I was considering lately how to fix Cindry's problem with dishes recently. If you do this service for me, I might find it in my generous heart to fix her problem."

A look of hope quickly sprang up on Hogback's face. "You really mean it Moria-sama?!"

"Ki shi shi shi, I never lie to my men!"

"Okay, I'll do it!" Hogback stood from the table, toppling his chair over in a hurry.

"Slow down Doctor Hogback, we don't have any patients for you to treat." I spread my grin from ear to ear. That's one source of income solved. The rest will have to be made from stealing.

"Heed my command, we set sail for East Blue. All merchant vessels are to be let go after we rob them. You know what to do with the pirates."

"Heh, East Blue, they'll be easy marks." Absalom complimented.

"Genius as always Moria-sama! Fos fos fos fos!" said Hogback, still energized from our conversation.

"I approve of anything that adds cute things to my collection! Horo horo horo!" Perona squeezed her servant till his eyes bulged out.

A chorus of affirmatives followed me out the door.

"Absalom, walk with me."

* * *

"Moria-sama-" Absalom began.

"Let's go to the battlements." I interrupted.

When we finally arrived to the top of the walls surrounding the island, I leaned out, facing the ocean.

"There's a change in the air Absalom, can you feel it? The world sits upon a precipice. On one path, the Marines, and Absolute Justice reign supreme. On the other, bastards like Kaido grow ever closer to becoming the Pirate King."

"We can't let that man become the pirate king, Moria-sama! Whatever the cost! For our nakama!" Absalom cried out with passion.

"I know." I place a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you; we will avenge them." If not necessarily for me, but to at least honor the original will of this body. Not to mention securing the loyalty of one more devil fruit user.

"There's a new generation of pirates making waves in the world. They're known as 'The Worst Generation' Monkey D. Luffy is one of them. His energy, and drive have once again ignited my passions once again. I am no longer the Moria who relied solely on his subordinates to become the Pirate King. Do you understand what I'm saying Absalom?"

Tears came out of his eyes, and snot dripped down his lion nose. "Yes, Moria-sama!"

"Good. Within three to four weeks' time, the World Government will assemble all of the Shichibukai at Marineford. They're expecting combat with the Whitebeard pirates." Absalom gasped at my declaration

"In the coming days, I will be training my powers to the maximum. I too, expect you to train. You're to train using a sniper while invisible, and practice sneaking up on our zombies with functional animal noses or animal ears. You have the potential to be one of the most powerful men in the world Absalom, and if there's one thing women like, it's a strong man." My patented sly smirk emerged as I saw a new fire light itself in Absalom's heart.

"In the meantime, I want you to delegate one of our Zombie Generals to teach our zombies in the graveyard how to shoot a rifle. Their performance against the Straw Hats was pathetic, they were worth less than cannon fodder."

"I'll get right on it Moria-sama!" Saluting he turned to carry out my orders.

"One last thing, our mission to East Blue this time isn't just to get easy money. Take this list, the Thriller Bark Pirates are making a comeback!"

* * *

**AN: Lot's of exposition this chapter. **

**Maybe we'll see Moria test some of his theories next time. Any suggestions on shadow abilities/powers are appreciated. **

**The poll for Absalom will be open until the Straw Hats meet up again after Sabaody.**

**For my post Marineford arcs, I'm thinking about using characters inspired from Courage the Cowardly Dog, KND, and other games/cartoons for my antagonists, thoughts?**

**Probably won't post every day like I have been. Finals are coming up, and I get to memorize every nerve in the body. Joy. **


	5. Chapter 5

It's been near seven days since I've been in the world of One Piece. After waking up to the Straw Hat, Kuma debacle, it's really sunk in. One moment, I was ordinary regular guy number seven billion, the next, I'm some monster whose life depends on piracy. If there's one thing I know about this world, it's that if you're not strong, physically strong, then you'll get used, and tossed to the roadside. You'll be lucky to live out your days delivering the mail, or waiting tables if you lose a fight in this world. The unlucky ones-images of Nico Robin's childhood flashed through my mind. The slave pens of the World Nobles burning, the gorgon sisters barely escaping. Will I be Pirate King, a Yonko, remain as a Shichibukai, or find an early grave? Who's to say. All I know is that I have to get stronger if I want to survive in this world.

I didn't spend this time idle moping in my tower. I was currently in the outskirts of the graveyard, fighting with all I had.

"Ha, is that all you've got!" I spit out a glob of blood.

"Again!" I rushed towards my opponent dual swords swiping from side to side.

"Kuh!" a fresh torrent of blood spit out of my mouth as my guard was broken, and a fist met my stomach.

Red rang a bell, signaling the end of the duel.

Across from me stood my strongest weapon, closest confidant and current sparring partner, Doppleman. It took two days to deal with the Straw Hats and order my crew. Ever since then, I've been sparring with Doppleman for six hours a day. The rest of my time had been spent experimenting with the abilities granted to me by the Kage Kage ni Mi. I could now confidently swap places with Doppleman at command. My only regret is that I didn't have any pirates to experiment my shadow taking abilities on.

"Excellent performance as always Moria-sama!" Red fist pumped the air.

"You'll get him next time!" Blue said in a comforting tone.

"Here's your towel Moria-sama." Yellow passed an elephant themed towel that's about the size of his body to me.

"Ki shi shi shi shi." The comical sight of Yellow being enveloped in a towel that at best could cover my face was impossible not to laugh at.

Holding the towel up to my split lip, I examined my minions. I had no issue appearing in this state in front of these three. My order that they talk to no one about my injuries was absolute.

"When will we be out of the Florian Triangle?" I knew the answer of course, but asking my minions was a good way to break my mind from the monotony of endless training.

"We should be out by the dawn of the next day master." Red replied matter of factly.

A sudden rustling noise came from the direction of the forest, interrupting my break. My fingers twitched, and a sword materialized in my hand. All the training in the last five days along with the mounting pressure had left me a little high strung.

"Show yourself!" Did some of the zombies get lost?

The rustling stopped completly at my declaration. Silence reigned supreme in the fog covered forest.

I walked over to investigate. At my approach, frantic movement broke out. Branches snapped, and I barely made out a suppressed voice say "Run."

Rushing into the forest, I knocked several trees to the side that got in my way. I stopped suddenly in a stupor. On the ground before me was a pink haired women with large lips, and a massive body. She'd easily come up to my neck if she was standing. Currently she was grasping her leg, and rocking back and forth.

"Aaah, aaah" She breathed heavily in pain.

"My knee, my good knee! Oh lordy, lordy." Is she a simpleton? Seems she's completely forgotten that she was running from me.

"So, what are you doing? Ruining my plans?" I walked up to her, and looked down into her eyes.

"Ruining your plans?" She looked up in confusion.

"Are you?" I grabbed her shirt, and held her up to my face. For added insurance, I had Doppleman emerge behind her and disarm her two swords.

"G-G-G-Gecko Moria!" and she fainted in my hands, frothing at the mouth. Marvelous.

"Red!" I shouted out to grab his attention. A second later he scurried over from the graveyard.

"Do you have any idea who this refuse is?" I shoved her unconscious form towards Red.

He squinted for a good minute. I had Doppleman practice with the swords. I turned my back to him to practice my control while I waited. This whole ordeal is already a waste of my time.

"I've got it! Her shadow is used for one of your Zombie Generals, Moria-sama. Her name is Lola! Charlotte Lola!" He answers with perfect confidence.

"One of my Zombie Generals eh?" I rubbed my chin. That's right, even though I've watched One Piece, that doesn't mean I can remember every single little bit of minutiae or tidbit of information. I guess Moria did have a lot of survivors on his island. His catch and release system was pretty stupid. Perhaps I'll build a prison. Wait.

"Red, did you say her name was Charlotte?" I asked, a hint of dread creeped into my voice. _She's_ Big Mom's daughter?

"Yes, Moria-sama! Charlotte Lola, Captain of the Rolling Pirates!" Red answered enthusiastically and with great certainty.

"Charlotte Lola." I said the name, a dozen scenarios, dangers and opportunities appeared when this name entered the equation. For now, a little diplomacy was in order.

"Red, take Blue, and see to it that Lola here is placed on house arrest at Hogback's mansion. Inform Hogback that she's not to be harmed or operated on."

"Your orders are my command!" Red ran to get Blue, leaving me with Lola.

"Short term gains, or long term gains?" I set her down gently, and patted her head like a master petting his dog. "You'll be my golden goose."

* * *

The room was illuminated by nothing but the starlight shining through the window. I was reclining on the bean bag chair thinking. My arms rested behind my head while I played with the shadows. One part training, one part entertainment in a world without the internet. The shadow of a grandfather clock danced about with the shadows of a candlestick, and a couple tea cups. The real clock, candlestick, and tea cups moved slightly in response to the movement of their shadows.

If I take the shadow from a person, and they're exposed to sunlight, they vaporize. What would happen if I took the shadow from a building, or an object? Do non-living objects also vaporize in the sun? Would an island vaporize if I took its shadow? I'll have to that out once we leave the Florian Triangle, and can get regular sunlight.

Although, that's not much of a priority. I have zero personal fighting skills, not to mention I don't know how to run a ship. Stealing the shadows of a warrior, and a navigator are at the top of my list of shadows to steal.

"What about you, Doppleman, what do you think?" He stood there, silent like always. This has become a nightly occurrence for me, talking to my own shadow. As much as I crow the loyalty of Absalom, there's no one you can trust more than yourself. If I didn't talk to someone, about all the nonsense I've gone through, I'm sure I'd go crazy.

I have Doppleman stand silent guardian over me while I sleep. There isn't anyone else on this island as trustworthy as Doppleman.

"Good night, Doppleman." I close my eyes. Hello, sweet oblivion.

"Moria-sama!" Red swung my door open, light flooded in from the hallway.

"Our last Night Attack in the Florian Triangle, King of Darkness Gecko Moria!" Blue marched in with his head held high.

"They'll fall before the might of the Thriller Bark Pirates!" Yellow deepened his voice. He sounded less like a chipmunk, and more like Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Receiving shocked and impressed looks from Red and Blue.

Not this shit again. I closed my eyes to block the light from the hallway. The sound of explosions sounded through the glass pain of my window. I covered my ears with a pair of mufflers formed from the shadows in the room. I've been itching to test my powers on a live subject for days, and when that opportunity comes along, I'm sore to the bone, and tired as hell. Whatever, I'll just test my powers on live subjects when my crew has captured them. They somehow captured Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, they'll be fine. As I was finally starting to get comfortable, a small pile of rubble spilled upon my head. Spluttering, I wiped the debris off my face.

"I will murder you!" In one fluid motion, I jumped up from my bean bag, and took a look out the balcony. I couldn't see a thing, but gun shots rang from the graveyard. Hopefully some of those guns are being wielded by my zombies.

"Hit the lights!" At my order, Red and the rest of my minions shined spot lights down upon the graveyard. Large shadows formed from the various gravestones, and shrines where the spotlights passed over.

I focused, and drew the shadows in the room to me. They traveled up my body, and spread out on my back. Bat wings made of shadow spread across my back. I had only just created this technique yesterday. My control isn't perfect, but it should be enough to glide down from up here. The bat wings may be a bit edgy, but at this point, it's impossible for me _not _to look edgy.

As I glided down, I got a better picture of what I'd be facing. My zombies were shooting into a mob of malnourished humans. The people attacking the graveyard were falling down in droves. Curious enough, many zombies would fall shortly after a attacker died.

"Die zombie! For Lola-sama!" A guy in a ragged white shirt, wearing a faded maroon tie, and a blue mask that covered his head shouted. He sliced off zombie limbs left and right with a massive katana.

"Once we rescue the princess from the mansion, we've got to get back to the forest, brother!" Fighting next to Maroon Tie, a man who could easily be mistaken for a zombie was punching out zombies with the same ferocity. Blood leaked from a gunshot wound, staining his green striped shirt.

I don't see Perona, and I better not see Absalom. Time to make an entrance. About twenty meters from the ground, I let my wings disappear, and plummet to the ground. A loud 'thump' sounded, and a dust cloud came from my position obscuring my position.

"Gah! Why'd you cut me?!" Green Stripe had a gash across his shoulder blade. His arm hung limply at the cut tendons.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Maroon Tie turned towards his brother.

"Kuh!" Maroon Tie fell forward into green stripes arm. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. My shadow slowly retracted from his back, and a gaping hole could be visibly seen where his heart should be.

"Brother!"

"Ki shi shi shi shi! You fools! come to save your precious princess, Lola? Throw down your weapons, and submit to my rule, otherwise…This graveyard will be your final resting place!"

"M-Moria!"

"Hiiii!"

"It's the Shichibukai, run!"

As my presence was revealed, a good three quarters of the attackers not dead, or incapacitated retreated to the forest. The remaining smart attacker's threw down their weapons and surrendered. In a few cases, some men were in fetal positions, rocking back and forth.

I really need a dungeon or something. A cry of outrage brought me back to the situation at hand.

"You! You sick bastard! You killed my brother!" Striped Shirt cried as he laid his brother down to rest.

"I'm touched by the emotion you've shown me." I paused. "I can bring him back if you truly loved him." A sadistic smile broke out across my face. Doppleman beside me pantomimed laughter and pointed at striped shirt. He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"I know how your powers pervert life, you monster! You won't tempt me with your lies!" Spittle flew from his mouth with every syllable.

"A shame that you don't wish your brother to live anew. No matter, I'll let you join him as an eternal guardian of my home." As I was about to impale him like I'd done to his brother, something unexpected happened.

"Heh hah heh hee hah!" A mad laugh escaped his mouth.

"He had discovered this technique after freeing your slaves! Now, I'll use my brother's technique for vengeance! As long as I kill you, my life will be complete!" Striped Shirt reached into his pocket, and pulled out a bundle of shadows. "I could only ever safely contain two of these at a time, I wonder what will happen if I hold twenty?!" A mad glint entered his eye.

Where did he get those? Has he been storing those shadows. In. His. _Pocket?! _

Striped shirt suddenly grew in size, and became almost as tall as me. His shirt fell off in his growth, and his skin turned a deep blue gray. The sound of cracking accompanied his transformation, his injured arm straightened itself out, good as new. Holy! He's a hulk!

"Haah, haah." The hulk stared at me with a deep seated rage burning in his eyes.

"Raaaaa!" dashing forward, he swung at my head.

"Cheh." I swapped places with Doppleman just before his fist landed. The hulk kept beating on Doppleman for a few seconds, not having yet realized I was to his side. His mistake.

Forming massive claws out of the shadows formed by the searchlights, I plunged them deep into the hulks back.

"Oryaa!" with a heave, I ripped him in half. Gore splattered everywhere.

"Puh. Puh." I spit blood out of my mouth. I went to wipe the blood off my face with my hands, but just rubbed more blood on myself. "Ah, it made it worse!"

Where's my towel when I need it?

* * *

"Ah, I think my favorite thing about this mansion is the baths." Hogback sat in the sauna with a certain elephant themed towel wrapped around his waist.

* * *

**AN: Shape manipulation OP.**

**I think writing non-canon scenes comes easier to me, was a lot more fun too. I _really_ wanted to give Striped Shirt purple pants this chapter.**

**So, what theories do you guys have when it comes to using Lola?**


	6. Chapter 6

I was lounging in my bathhouse enjoying the warm water, and washing away my opponents' blood, thinking about the fight. When he suddenly absorbed those shadows, he had lost all reason. Come to think of it, Moria didn't seem like he was all there with his fight against Luffy when he absorbed all the shadows on the island. He could've used his own shadow to much greater effect in that form. This is truly troublesome. I had planned on using that technique as a trump card if things went south. Now I'm going to have to reevaluate. A hammer isn't any good if you never hit your target.

I further reflected on how I could've handled the situation. Having Doppleman stand directly to my side during a fight maybe isn't the best idea. He's essentially my get out of jail free card. Let's think this through. With my ability, I can generate shadows. I've recently discovered that I can manipulate shadows from inanimate objects for an attack. I can probably find a way to fight together with Doppleman where he's essentially the tank, and I'm the ranged dps. It's a shame that the Kage Kage no Mi's strongest ability, taking another person's shadow, is such a long process in a fight. The enemy would have to be standing still, or incapacitated for that to happen.

I looked over to see Doppleman playing about in the water without a care. This body sure is cruel, a devil fruit user loses all their strength if they're in water up to their knees. Moria's a tall bastard with one fatal flaw. He has incredibly stubby legs! I'll never feel safe in a bath tub ever again.

* * *

I lounged in the mansions dining room, enjoying an orange, and some pancakes with my crew. The early morning light peeking through the curtains.

"Bad! Bad Kumashi! How many times do I have to tell you not to talk? I'd have Doctor Hogback sew your mouth shut if it would make you look cute!" Perona berated Kumashi bran flakes flying out of her mouth as she got more and more wound up.

"Kumashi's not that bad of a guy you know Perona?" Absalom finished his statement with a sip of coffee, not bothering to look up from his newspaper.

"Just you wait Cindry-chan, you'll be fixed by Moria-sama soon. Then we can be together just like how you always wanted." Hogback was absently playing with his eggs mixing them into the table.

"Go kill yourself." Cindry sat next to Hogback completely monotone.

"How about you Lola, care for a bite?" I gestured towards a smorgasbord of food piled upon a trolley being manned by Red.

A look of fear crossed her face as she slowly shook in place.

"Oh, no need for the cold shoulder Lola-chan~. I've returned your shadow. Is this how you reciprocate my hospitality?"

In the background of my conversation with Lola, Cindry began throwing plates at Hogback.

"So cruel, Cindry-chan!"

Lola worked up the courage to look me in the eye. Slowly, resolve began to take form.

"Will you marry me?" she said with complete seriousness.

Like a computer being unplugged, the side conversations in the room ended abruptly. A drop of sweat rolled down my back. I've never expected to be proposed to before. By a stranger no less!

"No." My face still wore the shock from her proposal.

"Oh." She looked down, dejected.

"Horo horo horo horo" Perona laughed with the back of her hand covering her mouth.

"Ha! She got you good, Moria-sama!" Absalom was laughing so hard, he smacked the table jostling the glasses.

The only one who wasn't laughing was Hogback. He seemed to be shrunk into himself, a sad smile upon his lips.

Gaining a sudden burst of energy out of nowhere, Lola looked up with fire in her eyes.

"You obviously value me for my connection to my mom. If you're going to hold me here, I demand you free my crew!" Gone was the scared persona she had a moment ago. In its place stood a commander of men, Charlotte Lola, Captain of the Rolling Pirates.

I paused for a moment, considering my options. Her brief display had earned a bit of my respect.

"I have unfortunate news to tell you Lola." I began with a serious tone of voice.

"This morning as my minions patrolled the graveyard near the forest, they discovered many piles of ash surrounded by clothes."

"But I've only been gone an entire day, there's no way those guys could've gotten themselves killed in the light like that!" Lola looked at me with utter disbelief.

"It's regretful to your crew, but today is the day we've finally left the Florian Triangle. Without your guidance, perhaps a large number of them…perished. Red, bring me that katana, and the hat that came with it."

"Here it is Moria-sama." Red presented me the blue cap that Maroon Tie was wearing.

"No! No, no, no, no! It can't be! The Risky Brothers would never go out like that! My nakama!" Fresh horror marred Lola's face.

"Shh, shh, it's going to be okay. I gave her shoulder a pat. I know the pain of losing a crew."

"Y-you do?" She looked up tears and snot falling from her face.

"I lost mine in a fight to that bastard Kaido." I grimaced as if I was in deep sorrow.

"It's a pain that never really goes away, but you can always keep them in your memory, and live on how they would want you to live." I smiled consolingly while spouting out some bullshit about a crew I never lost.

"I'll tell you what, my minions will comb the forest for any survivors. I'll return their shadows, and let you see them off. In exchange, you promise not to cause any trouble. That sound good?"

"Y-yes, please, Moria, Moria-sama." Her lip wobbled, and she broke out into fresh tears.

God, but do I hate talking to emotional people. I swear, children can be more rational than an emotional adult sometimes. Using her as a bargaining chip with either the Marines, or Big Mom better be worth it.

"Moria-sama, Moria-sama!" Absalom rushed over from his side of the table holding his newspaper aloft.

"What is it this time Absalom?"

"Look at this!" Absalom shoved the paper in my face.

"You want me to buy Al Harrington's wacky inflatable arm tube guys from Al Harrington at Al Harrington's Emporium? I'm not interested. Save up some of your money, and buy them yourself." I leaned back, this guy's always asking for trouble.

"Not that, this!" He pointed at a picture of two guys standing before a banner that said 'Ukkari Hot-Springs Resort Grand Opening.'

Well I'll be damned.

"Good work Absalom."

"Thank you Moria-sama! I've been diligently searching for leads since that night." He beamed at my praise.

"Attention! We're stopping at the Ukkari Hot-Springs Resort island on our way to East Blue."

"Ahh! A spa day! This will be perfect to unwind!" Perona dragged Kumashi and left in a hurry. Probably to do whatever it is she does when she's alone in her garden.

"Fos fos fos fos! An excellent place to practice medicine. The rich and sick will always be found at spa resorts!" Hogback raised his arms in jubilation. He was one step closer to being together forever with a perfect Cindry.

"Not to mention all the naked women!" Absalom wolf whistled, and thumped his foot on the ground. A drop of drool came out of the corner of his mouth.

Absalom is literally salivating at the prospect. Heh, never change Absalom.

"Absalom, will you marry me?" A shy Lola asked.

"Wha-what?" Absalom looked spooked. No doubt flashbacks of the pig Lola forcing herself on him were running through his mind right now.

"I didn't hear a no. Come here hubby!" Lola ran at Absalom with her arms outstretched, attempting to kiss him.

"No! I said no! Stay back! I'm warning you!"

"These are good pancakes Red. Did you cook them yourself?"

"Ah, you're embarrassing me Moria-sama." Red kicked the ground bashfully.

"Captain, saaaave meeee!"

"Did you hear something Red?"

"Must be the zombies dancing outside Moria-sama."

* * *

**AN: Spa chapter, or time skip what do you guys think? For reference, the time skip would be to a meeting with the Shichibukai. Did anyone catch that in the last chapter, two brothers, one wearing red, and another green tried to save a pink princess from a castle? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Time Skip it is.**

* * *

"Our time spent at the Ukkari Hot-Springs Resort was a complete success. Good work everyone." I congratulated my crew in my throne room after a very profitable venture.

"Doctor Hogback, your reputation may have faded into the background of the world stage, but your plan to 'cure' a zombie of an affliction, and attract the rich and stupid was genius."

"Fos fos fos! Cindry-chan was the perfect nurse!" Hogback readjusted his glasses so they glared when he finished his statement.

"Do the world a favor, and kill yourself. Pervert." Cindry replied.

"So cruel!" Hogback threw his arms up in shock.

I, I'm just going to ignore that, and keep the conversation going.

"With Hogback's contributions, we are 3,350,000 beri richer. His reputation will once again become known to the rich and famous of this world. Our coffers will only benefit from this. The name Gecko Moria will become synonymous with long life and good health among the four blues."

"Hurrah!"

"Go Moria-sama!"

"Cunning as always master!"

The tri-color minions congratulated.

"Moving on, Absalom, your kidnapping of the resort co-owner has opened a new avenue of extortion. We now stand to gain 50% of all Ukkari Hot-Springs' profits. You've secured over 200,000 beri. Your mission this time will see this crew benefit well into the future." That may seem like a small amount, but if there's anything I've learned from finance, it's that passive income is key to long term stability.

"It wasn't easy Moria-sama, but I'm using my Devil Fruit like you've suggested. I'm doing my best to realize the dream of the Thriller Bark Pirates." A large bandage wrapped around Absalom's mouth, slightly muffling his voice.

"Additionally, my presence as a Shichibukai endorsing the establishment will go a long way in dissuading the common riff-raff from cutting into our margins. Our total is near 13,550,000. We're one step closer to paying off the World Government. Ki shi shi shi!"

Another round of congratulations and back pats followed. There's a lot more clapping, and circle jerking at these executive meetings than one would think. As the boss, I could probably say a total loss was a good thing, and receive a standing ovation. Is blind obedience such a good thing if your servants never have out of the box solutions to a complex issue? At the very least Hogback is educated I suppose.

"Moria-sama, get to my part of the plan. Praise me!" Perona's bratty voice interrupted the applause.

"Ahem, and Perona, your role as a visiting royalty to increase the publicity of the resort went according to my plan. Further increasing our dividends from Absalom's extortion."

"Moria-sama, there wasn't any praise for me in that sentence at all!" Perona stomped her foot, and preceded to kick Kumashi to the ground.

"Must be that time of the month." Absalom muttered.

"What was that?!" Perona glared death at Absalom.

"Nothing! Well, if that's all Moria-sama, I have more training to do, by!" Absalom turned invisible, and left in a hurry.

"Get back here scum! Kumashi, carry me to my bedroom!" Perona instantly went limp as she sent her ghost body out in search of Absalom.

"Right away Perona-sama." Kumashi's deep baritone sounded out.

"And don't talk! Zero points."

"Oh-MmmmMMM!" Kumashi went to reply, but quickly covered his mouth.

Man, she never separates from that guy. I know if I was Absalom, I wouldn't take that shit. Heh, not my problem. Operation Thunder Taker was a success. Despite some minor hiccups with the kidnapping, this venture should see my power base rise exponentially.

"Ah, Moria-sama, about Cindry-chan." Hogback rubbed his hands nervously, a look of hope upon his face.

Right, Hogback's promised reward. Now how am I going to reprogram Cindry's shadow without Hogback being suspicious? Essentially, I'll be stealing Moria's technique. The one where he can give a shadow any command before he inserts it into a zombie. The only alteration to this skill will be that I'm taking out Cindry's shadow, reprogramming it to forget about her past life, follow my orders, and act like Hogback's perfect bride. The problem is that Hogback might come to the conclusion that 'Moria' has been holding out on him, and could've fixed Cindry the entire time. Thus, lowering his loyalty. Truthfully, Moria probably _did _have the skills to fix her. He probably left her hating Hogback for his amusement. She _was_ conveniently obedient whenever in my presence. Hmm, I stroked my chin in thought.

"Your reward. I perform this task for you with the understanding that you'll continue to treat patients I send to your door."

"Yes, Moria-sama." Hogback grimaced, but answered positively anyway.

"Good. This new technique of mine. I need to be absolutely alone for it to work."

"But Moria-sama, I need to be with Cindry-chan, encase she's hurt." Glasses askew, naked concern was written all over Hogback's face.

"Leave! You may wait outside the room with the zombies as company."

"Yes…of course." He walked out dejected.

As the door shut, I was alone in the room with Cindry. I held out my hand in the iconic 'Darth Vader' choking motion, and focused on the shadow within the zombie body. I felt a vacuum like suction, and her shadow came out squirming in my grasp. Cindry's corpse fell limp in response.

"You will answer to the name Victoria Cindry. You are in love with Doctor Hogback, and will strive to act like his ideal bride. You will obey his orders above all others save mine. If Hogback ever plans to betray me, inform me immediately. If he ever attacks me, stab him in the back." The shadow didn't once stop struggling to escape my grasp until it was too late. With little effort, I stuck the squirming shadow back inside the corpse of Victoria Cindry.

"Arise, 'Corpse Bride' Victoria Cindry! Muahahahaha!" Alone for once, I broke character, and let loose with a cheesy laugh. I had lost myself in the spectacle of it all. Maybe a zombie army could be viable if I had stronger corpses, and equally strong shadows. I have a long road ahead of me.

* * *

"Purupurupuru…purupurupuru…" A sound woke me from my nap.

"What's huh?" I groggily shifted about.

"Purupurupuru…purupurupuru…" There it is again!

"I-It's the Marine's!" Before my eyes, Red held a den den mushi. The snail had a seagull hat, glasses, and a Fu Manchu mustache. Comical appearance aside, this must be Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

"Gecko Moria, the Shichibukai have been summoned to the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. A Marine ship has been dispatched to your location. Be here in seven days or less. This is an issue important to those higher up. Be there or face the consequences."

"Katchak! " The den den mushi ended the call with a click.

A man of few words, and no tolerance for latecomers. He must get enough of that with Kizaru and Aokiji. Hold on. How does Sengoku know where I am this quickly?...The Cipher Pol sure is a scary organization. I'll have to look into starting my own information network, or ask Absalom who our contacts are. I looked down at the ground, deep in thought. Ace is probably going to be executed in seven or eight days. I only have a week to master any last-minute techniques before the Marineford War.

"Doppleman!"

* * *

These last few days, I had stayed near the resort so that Sengoku didn't think I was running away. My entire crew was on lookout for the Marine escort. I had considered flying to Mary Geoise, but didn't want to reveal my ability. Not to mention, I'd risk getting shot by trigger happy Marines. I'm pretty sure the place has a no fly zone anyway.

"The Marine ship you expected is approaching Moria-sama. They're signaling for us to open the gates." Absalom lowered his spyglass, and turned to me. "You sure you don't want me coming with you Moria-sama? You can't trust Marines to have your back. Even if you are a Shichibukai!"

"Ki shi shi shi. You worry to much Absalom. Simply follow my orders, and continue to search for the things on that list. I trust you to look after things while I'm away." I smiled. He's not the best steward, Hogback would probably do a better job of it. But if there's one thing that could be said about Absalom, it's that he's loyal.

"Moria-sama!" Absalom saluted in farewell.

"Take care Red, Blue, and Yellow." Of all my servants, these three are the ones who I've grown most fond of. They always wait on me hand and foot, serve me food, and carry out any order. They lack in battle power, but can never betray me. I'll sorta miss these guys.

"Take care, Moria-sama." Red bowed.

"Your excellency won't, nay, cannot lose! You're undefeatable under the sun great one." Blue brown nosed as always.

"We look forward to your return, master." Yellow finished in a level tone.

"I'll have a new training regimen for Absolam when I get back. Make sure he keeps training with his Devil Fruit while I'm gone you three."

"Moria-sama!" Absalom yelp.

A small sadistic smile passed my lips at Absalom's action. After taking care of matters with Absalom, there really was no need for me to go talk to Hogback and Perona. They already knew what I was doing, and we weren't close like that.

I waited at the entrance of Thriller Bark island for the Marine ship to dock. As it got closer, I realized how massive the ship was. The Marine battleship was so tall, it barely passed through the gates. As the islands current carried the vessel towards the pier, I got a better look. The top of the ship's masts surpassed the walls surrounding Thriller Bark. On the back of the ship was a paddle, and I assume the underneath is covered in sea stones. That must be how the ship is going to get me to the Holy Land so fast. We'll go straight through the Calm Belt, bypass all the crazy weather and dangers on the Grand Line, then go right to the meeting. The Marine's must be excellent at logistics and moving their troops.

As the ship pulled up, a gangplank was lowered. Standing at the very top of the gangplank was a figure I did not recognize. He looked like generic Marine 242, middle aged, brown hair, black suit, and a Marine officer greatcoat. Did they send a Marine Rear-Admiral to pick me up?! Where's the respect?

"Gecko Moria, Shichibukai?" He asked in a gruff no nonsense voice. Either I'm being snubbed, or this guy's just following policy. Like how a McDonalds employee will always ask you if you 'want fries with that.' In any case, time to turn it up to eleven.

"Ki shi shi shi. You have the honor of speaking to him. Now be a good dog, and take me to your master."

"Y-You!" the Marine's veins in his neck were bulging. He reached out his hand as if he was going to strangle someone.

"Let's go, you're on the clock, right? It sure would look bad if the 'higher ups' plan was ruined because of a lowly Rear-Admiral. Right?"

"Raaagh!" He unsheathed his sword, took one step towards me, and stopped.

"Aahh-ahh, what are you-" His muscles strained as he attempted to move. He had stood in one place for too long, his shadow was ensorcelled by mine. My moves were his moves.

"Shadow capture complete." I slowly, ever so slowly reached into one of the many pockets I had 'tailor zombie' stitch on, and pulled out a pistol. It had a basic wood design, and was overlaid in iron. It wasn't anything fancy, but it'd get the job done.

_Katcha Katcha _I fired off two shots, directly into his knee caps.

"Ahhh!" he screamed in pain. My shadow held him in place. Continued pressure was applied to his knee caps as he was forced to stand.

"A-Admiral!" His crew looked on, unsure if they should engage me. I looked around, seems one or two might try to do something stupid. Probably not the best time to massacre a cadre of Marines. Time to wrap this up.

Releasing the shadow binding technique, the Rear-Admiral hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. Pain and a burning ferocity that bespoke revenge was clear in his gaze as we made eye contact. It looked as if he was about to give the order to fire for a moment, but duty must've won out. He averted his gaze, and commanded his men. "Listen up men! We're to escort the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria to the Holy Land! Now someone get me a goddamn medic!"

As I reached the deck of the ship, I recognized a problem. I couldn't fit through the doors leading into the ship! I was going to have to spend this voyage of three days on the deck!

* * *

**AN: Not quite at the Shichibukai meeting yet, lol. I did skip the Spa island arc tho, had to "tell and not show" which I'm unhappy with, but the recap was needed. If Moria was to have a 1 on 1 conversation with another Shichibukai, who should it be? FYI in sailor's vernacular, a Rear-Admiral or Vice-Admiral can still be called "Admiral" and the Captain of the boat can be ranked as low as Lieutenant or as high as a Fleet-Commander. **


	8. Chapter 8

"Ahoy, land ho!" a Marine Petty Officer shouted out. Her voice loud and authoritative.

Opening my eyes from my meditation, I could see it. Mary Geoise, the Holy Land in all its early morning glory. From a distance, we were approaching a massive castle. The defensive fortification made Thriller Bark look like a toy town in comparison to a capital city. This is quite literally the center of the world. There's a saying in this new world of mine, that 'All Oceans lead to God.' For many of the people, the World Noble's might as well be like gods.

"Moria-sama! We should reach port in ten minutes, please prepare to disembark after we pass through the fortresses gates." the same Petty Officer from earlier saluted me. After the debacle with the Rear-Admiral, she had been assigned as my liaison. She had walked on egg shells at first, but soon came to treat me like any other important executive. All voyage long I would silently sit, practice my powers, eat, shit, and sleep. Just like any other normal person. It's hardly worth any effort to screw with someone so low on the totem pole with such a momentous event on the horizon.

As we pulled into the harbor, a massive city of houses, mansions, and castles came into view. I have to give it to the World Nobel's, brutality aside, they sure do know how to live in style. At the pier, a line of saluting Marine's greeted me. At the head of the contingent awaited a Marine Vice-Admiral, his scar filled face was etched in a permanent scowl. The Vice-Admiral in question was the team killing bastard extraordinaire himself, Doberman. Great, my new liaison is the second biggest asshole in all of the Marine's. Wonderful!

"Announcing the Royal Shichibukai, Gecko Moria!" Petty Officer Girl called out. If possible, Doberman's scowl deepened at this proclamation. Bless your soul Petty Officer Girl.

"Sir!" the line of Marines saluted. I may not be a Marine, but the ceremony impressed me. This must be like what Presidents and Prime Ministers feel like when visiting foreign nations.

"Let's go _pirate, _you're the last of your kind to show up. Any later, and the 'higher ups' might have sent me to clean up." Doberman spat every word. Hatred concentrated in each syllable.

"Ki shi shi shi! Careful _Marine, _the Shichibukai answer to those same 'higher ups' not you and your squad of incompetent police. I guess the events at Enies Lobby were just a picnic to you? Just you watch, your pride in Justice will be your downfall." We'll see how smug you are after the Impel Down breakouts.

"Hmph, big talk from an outdated, overrated, obese excuse third rate Shichibukai. Everyone knows that you let the Straw Hat's get away on purpose Moria. I'm watching you." With that, Doberman turned around, and led me into the castle.

Down every hallway we went, Marine's hurrying about their business would stop to salute us. Chain of command is no joke to the Marine's. Hell, Doberman killed a subordinate, because he paused for one second. One second of hesitation because he didn't want to shoot his comrades. His fellow nakama. If the Marine's are anything like most militaries from Earth, there've got to be tons of rumors about Doberman. Now that I look closer, every single salute is given towards Doberman. The pale, enormous monster is just a backdrop to the fear these common Marines must have for Doberman.

"In there scum. Thankfully I don't have to spend another second in your toxic presence. I'll leave the talking to Tsuru." Doberman stepped aside, and within the hall was a round table covered in platters of food.

At the very left of the table sat Hawkeyes Mihawk, feet propped up against the table. To his left sat Bartholomew Kuma, arms crossed. Skipping an empty seat that I can only assume was reserved for me, Marshall D. Teach engorged himself. He quaffed a large pint of beer, and let loose a loud belch. To his left sat Donquixote Doflamingo, trademark grin plastered on his face. Doflamingo sat on the top of the back of his chair, a piece of paper in his hands.

The next four seats were occupied by two Marine Captains, a Rear-Admiral, and Vice-Admiral Tsuru. If I recall correctly, she is the Devil Fruit user with the Woshu Woshu no Mi, or Wash-Wash Fruit.

At my entrance, most of the room's occupants kept up with their current activities. Resting in Hawkeye's case, and staring off into nothing when it came to Kuma. Only three had any kind of reaction.

"Fuffuffuffuffu, you're looking a tad bigger since we last met Moria-chan. It's unhealthy to eat more than you can handle." Doflamingo's goofy voice was the first to sound out.

"Ze ha ha ha ha, so you're Gecko Moria? Come take a seat." Teach patted the chair next to him with an extra greasy hand. "The Marine's are serving an all you can eat buffet!" With that, he went back to eating his food. For all intents ignoring the rest of the room.

"Yes, well, now that we're all here we can begin. Please take a seat Moria, we have much to discuss." Tsuru chimed in with a world weary voice. She may look like a simple annoying old lady, but I'd be a fool to underestimate her Devil Fruit, or her experience. No need to openly declare myself as an enemy to anyone in this room. Afterall, if I were to strike, it'd be…from the shadows!

"Haha." Muffled laughter escapes my mouth at such an ironic and overly dramatic thought.

"Something amuses you about this Moria? We've been patiently waiting for more than five days for you to arrive." Tsuru reacted to my standing about.

"It's nothing Vice-Admiral. I was just struck by how welcoming my fellow Shichibukai and the Marines are. Truly a sight for sore eyes in this age of piracy."

"Here! Here!" Doflamingo raised a glass in salute to a dead silent room. One of the Marine Captain's coughed to the side.

"Right." Her tone of voice conveyed she wasn't buying it. With a sigh she continued. "In any case, please take a seat, we have a lot to get through."

Planning out the Whitebeard War? This is going to be epic.

* * *

This is not epic. For the last ten hours, we've gone over scenario after scenario. Ten. Hours! This must be some kind of revenge because I was late. What are we to do in case operation 3A fails? Follow up with operation 5D. If operation 'Kento' is a go, where are the Shichibukai supposed to be positioned? It doesn't help that Doflamingo keeps suggesting new plans at every turn!

"So Tsuru-chan, how about we add explosive rubber ducks to the back up plan of operation 'Fat-Boy.' The pandemonium it would create would confuse the Whitebeard Pirates. In the ensuing chaos, we have the three Admirals unleash their strongest ranged attacks all at once." Doflamingo read options off his list. Constantly editing his ideas as they come to him.

"Haah." Tsuru sighed, and pinched the bridge between her nose. "No Doflamingo, we can't use _exploding rubber ducks _at the battle of Marineford. Even if we _could _procure these ducks, there's no way we could have them ready for Fire Fist's execution." This woman has much more patience than I think I'll ever have.

"Fuffuffuffuffu, I have a guy." Doflamingo's bluff face showed no tells. Hell, at this point, if he really could bring a truckload of exploding rubber ducks to Marineford, this plan would have some merit. Let's be honest. If the three admirals really did combine all of their attacks, I don't know if there's anyone who could block that.

"You…have a guy." Disbelief was clear in Tsuru's voice.

In response, Doflamingo just grinned, and placed his hands in his pockets. I can see why he gave himself the moniker 'Joker' that smile is completely unhinged. With that train of thought, he probably even came up with the name 'Smile' for those shit Devil Fruits he sells to Kaido.

"Very well, I'll place 'exploding rubber ducks' as the back up plan to operation 'Fat-Boy.' Moving on."

"I changed my mind." Doflamingo interrupted. I swear I saw the light sheen off his glasses.

At this point, I'm the only other Shichibukai paying any kind of attention. Although Teach who has been eating this entire time, and seemingly ignoring the conversation shook in silent laughter. Mihawk twitched, or maybe he just shifted in his sleep. And Kuma, that bastard, just kept staring off into the distance.

"Kuh!" In response, the two Marine Captains face vaulted onto the floor.

"He changed his mind!"

"Just like that!"

Both of the Captains did a double take, and looked to their superior officer for guidance. The Rear-Admiral had his arms crossed, and looked like he really didn't want to be here.

Doflamingo could be called many things. Killer, thief, tyrant, insane, asshole, and many more epitaphs. There's not a soul out there that would call him kind, just, merciful, or loving. Despite all that, one thing no one can deny is that he's a mad genius.

"That will do it for today's meeting. In closing, we plan to execute Fire Fist at noon in three days. You all know your positions. The Fleet Admiral will finalize the meeting tomorrow, and answer any unanswered questions." At the end, Tsuru gave Doflamingo the stink eye, and excused herself from the room. Her Marine subordinates quickly followed her out.

"Well gentleman, it was fun, but I have some old acquaintances to catch up with." Doflamingo jumped out the window into the night.

Without a word, Mihawk stood up, and left. Kuma wasn't far behind him. That left just me and Teach in the candle lit room.

"Ze ha ha ha, what a guy that Doflamingo. I don't know whether to admire how he handled that Marine bitch, or whether I should hate him for taking up my valuable time. You've been in the Shichibukai for a while, what's your take on him?" Teach asked me as he casually devoured a giant turkey leg.

"Ki shi shi shi, so you're the one who took down Fire Fist Ace. Marshal D. Teach, or as your moniker would be, Blackbeard. I'm sure your name will soon be famous across the four Blues. When it comes to Doflamingo, all I'd say is don't underestimate him. Out of all the Shichibukai, I'd say he goes out of his way the most to make trouble for others." I'm somewhat curious what a Blackbeard vs Doflamingo fight would look like. Maybe if I throw enough suspicion at Doflamingo, Teach might fight him later?

Teach grunted in response, and moved on to a pig. There must be something tied to the will of D and eating. There's got to be.

"Oh? What about you? Lurking in the Florian Triangle all these years, most people have forgotten about the horror of Gecko Moria." Teach casually responded, food dropping out of his mouth. "Especially after you lost to Kaido."

Heh, this guy's trying to get a rise out of me. Or maybe, maybe he's just trying to get a read on me. It's true, Moria _has _been out of the public spotlight for a while. How do I react to this? Looks like he's stopped eating, if I wait any longer, he'll get even more suspicious.

"Ha! Oh, you know how it is being a Shichibukai. A little piracy here, a little piracy there. It's my policy to let your subordinates do all the hard work, and have the leader relax." A small sweat drop fell onto my spine at the ad libbed lie.

"No need to be so nervous my friend, we all have our secrets!" Teach, no, Blackbeard slapped my back in a comradely fashion.

"I'll give you a piece of advice." Here his eyes sharpened, and the dullard he had pretended to be at the meeting disappeared. "The world is about to shift. We sit on a crossroads, and the power vacuum left behind by the results of this upcoming war will shift the world's destiny for an entire age! Only people with their own strength have a hope of surviving it. When the time comes, you should reevaluate your loyalty to these 'Nobles.' Ze ha ha ha ha ha ha!" With that, Blackbeard patted my shoulder and walked out. The lifeless eyes of a pig skull and mountains of plates filled with animal bones stripped of the smallest scrap were my only company in the vast empty room.

* * *

**AN: Marineford won't be identical to canon. Have any ideas/theories on how to make it spicy? Stay tuned. **


	9. Chapter 9

Three days had past, and it was two hours before the execution. Tensions were high in the castle as we waited to be shipped over to Marineford. During this time, I had been ruminating on the subject of Blackbeard. When it comes to people who want to be Pirate King, he's probably one of the least insane. Comparing him to Big Mom, Kaido, Doflamingo, or hell, even Luffy, he seems to be a man with a plan. That and he's not entirely unhinged. I can't say I want to join his crew. However, if in the future Vegapunk really _does _come up with a plan to replace the Shichibukai it's best not to put all my eggs in one basket. In the short term, I really don't want Blackbeard to have the Gura Gura no Mi, or Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

"Don't just stand there Moria. What did you want to see me for?" A deep throaty voice entreated from within the office.

"Hello Fleet-Admiral Sengoku. I have news for you."

* * *

"Is this information accurate?" Sengoku gave me a skeptical look.

"I assure you Fleet-Admiral, my interests are entirely for the safety and security of the World Government. Blackbeard plans to-"

"Dire news Sengoku-sama! Impel Down has been breached by pirates! A ship bearing Straw Hat Luffy, Knight of the Sea Jinbe, and the Revolutionary Emporio Ivankov is heading towards the Gates of Justice." A nervous Marine aide burst into our meeting.

At the aide's statement, Sengoku's face shadowed over, and he grit his fists. "Damnit Garp." He muttered under his breath. "Enact order 'Uragirimono."

Saluting, the aide rushed off to carry out his orders. Meanwhile, Sengoku stared off into the horizon, doing that thousand yard stare thing that Marine's are so good at doing.

"You're clearly busy here, I'll see you at the battlefield Fleet-Admiral."

As I left the castle, I was surprised to see a massive fleet of hundreds of ships prepared to set sail in the docks of Mary Geoise. From what I can tell, this fleet is entirely separate from the one assembling at Marineford. Looks like I'm not the only one hedging his bets.

"Moria." An old leathery scowling Vice-Admiral marched up to me.

"Doberman." My high pitched voice retorted derisively. Lightning sparked in the air as we made eye contact. Leaves rustled because of the wind, and my shadow rippled.

"Vice-Admiral-sama, Moria-sama, the ship is set to sail. Let's go!" the Petty Officer Girl from earlier interrupted our contest in machismo.

"Very well Petty Officer, lead the way." Doberman addressed her without breaking eye contact.

"Ki shi shi shi, thank you Petty Officer." I had Doppleman follow her so I could maintain eye contact with Doberman. When she boarded the ship, I swapped positions with Doppleman. I may be a powerful Shichibukai now, but no one ever said I wasn't petty.

"Let's go Doberman, don't want to be late to the party. Eh?" Turning around, Doberman was already on the deck, talking to several other Marine officers. In the middle of his conversation, he eyed me for a moment, and gave me a small smug smirk. The six powers may not get showcased all that much past the Enies Lobby arc, but that doesn't mean they should be underestimated. Maybe I can steal a Marine shadow sometime down the line and steal that skill.

Messing with Doberman aside, no amount of inside humor can completely distract me from the coming fight. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. People will be gunning for me because of my Shichibukai status, not to mention how easy I would be to shoot at. I'm quite literally a big target.

"Hah hah, you and the Vice-Admiral sure are funny." Petty Officer Girl laughed with a lilt to her voice. Where does this young lady get the courage to talk so blasé to me? I'm pale, tall, and ugly. Not to mention my reputation. Must be because we're on a Marine ship surrounded by so many high ranking officers.

"We were quite silly, weren't we? If you serve long enough in the Marine's, you'll come to find that people with power enjoy being quirky." I said with absolute certainty to her dumbfounded face.

"That is to say, everyone is quirky, it's just that powerful people can enact their will on another group. As a result, the weaker people are forced to bare with these quirks. If, however a weaker person was to act quirky, they'd be shunned by their peers." I patiently monologued about my opinion on quirkiness.

Absalom was a prime example of being weaker, and unable to fully act on his strange quirks. On the other hand, since I'm powerful, people can complain all they want about my zombies, but they can't take them away. This is doubly true for my subordinates.

"Am I making any sense?"

"Not really, no. But that's why you're so funny! Eh heh." Petty Officer Girl finished her declaration by pointing and laughing at me.

"Enough fraternizing with the enemy Petty Officer! Your job is to act as liaison for this scum, not be friends! Act professional for the sea's sake. Doberman shouted, interrupting our conversation. His face must be set to default as a scowl. Quite honestly, he reminds me a bit about every stereotypical drill sergeant, or asshole executive officer I've ever seen in the movies. Why couldn't I have been assigned Vice-Admiral Jonathan, or that one guy with the red mustache and that mohawk pony tail thing.

"Yes sir!" Petty Officer Girl's back straightened out, and she saluted.

"You represent every other Marine who puts on the uniform! If we weren't expecting trouble, I'd put you in the brig myself." Doberman spat on the deck, and strutted to the helm of the ship. Marines hurried to get out of his way. When I looked back, I saw Petty Officer Girl wiping tears away from her eyes.

"Hey, it's not all that bad, everyone's had an asshole boss sometime in their life." I felt kind of sorry for her since I sort of caused all of this. I don't have anything against the rank and file Marine's. They're just regular people trying to make it same as anyone else. For some, they signed up for the adventure, others to protect people, and some people like my dad in the old world signed up to get out of crippling poverty.

"It's just. I worked really hard for this position! Not everyone can be a liaison to a Shichibukai. I-I should go. If the Vice-Admiral see's me talk to you, he'll only cause more trouble." She walked off towards the inside of the ship.

Damn. I somewhat feel like taking issue with Doberman over this, but there's a time and place for everything. We're on a boat headed for Marineford, and I don't need to get involved in any drama bs going on for some girl I don't even know. Godspeed, Petty Officer Girl.

* * *

"…As the Captain of the Spade Pirates, you ascended through the pirate world with your superior strength. And we finally noticed that Roger's blood had survived!" Sengoku announced the official reason why the Marines were executing Ace to the whole world, the Shichibukai by my side, and the hundred thousand Marines who stood witness.

Any minute now.

"Look, in the fog!" A random Marine shouted.

Sure enough, a fleet of pirate ships emerged. Each with their own distinct jolly roger, and unique style of ship.

Doflamingo muttered something about rubber ducks, a mad chuckle escaping his rictus like grin. I ignored him in lieu of steadying my nerves. Okay, if everything goes to plan, I just have to look scary, and kill a few pirates here and there. None of the ranking officers went all out at Marineford for fear of sinking the island.

Kuma, Doflamingo, Mihawk, the three Admirals, Garp, Sengoku, Whitebeard, and Marco all have the ability to destroy the island. The pirates don't want to because they want to rescue Ace. And the Marines would lose to much face if Marineford, the seat of the Marines was destroyed.

"Look, in the middle!" The same voice called out.

Three massive vessels designed in the image of whales popped up out of the water. Standing on the bow of the ship stood the owner of the Gura Gura no Mi, Edward Newgate himself. His white mustache in no way a beard was still the origin of his moniker, Whitebeard.

"Gura ra ra ra ra" With a deep throaty chuckle, Whitebeard simply punched out with both of his arms, shattering the sky next to him. The nearby ocean immediately swelled, forming massive hills.

"Sengoku, give me back my son, and I won't sink this island!"

"Justice is on my side Whitebeard, it's the will of the people that Roger's legacy be stopped. Your plot to put his seed upon throne of the Pirate King ends here today!" Sengoku adopted a righteous disposition. Whether he believes it or is just saying that for the den den mushi recording and his men's moral, I'll never know.

"Don't lecture me about morals Sengoku, we both know what you've done in the name of 'Justice." Done speaking with Sengoku, Whitebeard addressed Ace. "Son, we're here to rescue you! Keep on hoping!"

"We have your back Ace." Marco the phoenix added on. A whole chorus of cheers, tears, and speeches followed by the rest of the crew.

"Pops! I'm sorry pops! And to everyone else!" Ace cried out. Tears streaming down his face.

The wave caused by Whitebeard's seaquake came back conveniently at the exact same time Ace had finished speaking.

"Aokiji!" Sengoku called out.

And before me Aokiji jumped hundreds of feet into the air, and froze both waves in an instant. As he met the bay of Marineford, another casual use of his power saw the entire area frozen over. Back in the old world, most people argue that Paramecia are now the strongest Devil Fruits out there. That may be an argument worth having, because the casual display of power by both Whitebeard, and Aokiji was awe inspiring.

In response, a hoard of pirates numbering in the tens of thousands swarmed the battlefield.

"Onto the ice!" Sengoku commanded.

I was impressed. With no hesitation, a similar number of Marines charged onto the battlefield. Marine officers stood on top of or near cannon emplacements, urging their men onward. Shortly into the fight, Mihawk demonstrated his badassery by firing a energy attack across the battlefield at Whitebeard.

"Woah!"

"Good thing he's on our side!"

"Take that pirate trash!"

A wave of Marine support and cheers rushed forward, driving up momentum. Only for the high spirit to dwindle as a large tanned man, Diamond Jozu, deflected the shot.

"A-a Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"I heard he's the owner of the Kira Kira no Mi, turning his body hard as a diamond!"

The same Marines this time voiced their thoughts out loud in shock, rather than in jubilation.

"Hoh~ this won't do at all. Don't you think I should brighten up their day? Eh, Sakazuki?" I barely heard Kizaru speaking with Akainu over the din of the battle.

A moment later, Kizaru moved so fast, he appeared to have teleported into a zone above Whitebeard. Light in the shape of diamonds sped towards Whitebeard.

"You've got him Admiral!"

"That's the strength of the Marines!"

"Justice!"

More Marines cried out, only to be once again disappointed by the competence of Whitebeards Commander's.

Marco blocked most of Kizaru's attack, but much of it went through to the sides. Large holes were created in the ice around the ship, and several pirates were caught in the explosion. If Kizaru really did fight Whitebeard one on one, it would be a site to behold. If I was Kizaru, I would just keep kiting my opponent, fly, and try to get them to drown.

"Jess, no!"

"Wait till I find your family Kizaru!"

"For our Nakama!"

A myriad of cries and calls responded to Kizaru's quick burst attack. Whipping the pirates into a frenzy.

Out of the sea came a threat so huge, so massive, so mind bendignly large, that those with weak constitutions wished they could flee at the sight of him. His name was Oars Jr. and he was one mean green, tall ugly bastard.

As he approached, a frantic Marine Captain approached us. His name was Oda, or something.

"Respected members of the Shichibukai! As Vice-Admiral Tsuru predicted, the giant, Oars Jr. is approaching the battlefield. Please, show the world your might!" The Marine glanced between us back and forth at a rapid rate. More and more sweat accumulating on his brow for every step Oars Jr. took. "Please!" Desperation entered his voice.

Eyes glinting, Kuma stepped forward. Extending both of his paws, he gathered up air and compressed it into a small, tiny palm. He then sent it over, ever so slowly towards the giant. It's a shame that 'big people are stupid' is a trope of this world. Oars Jr. could've easily dodged that attack if he had any sense of the battlefield.

As expected, a large shockwave tore through Oars Jr. causing him to stumble.

"Don't give him an inch men, fire! Shoot all the cannons you can!" A random Marine Captain shouted nearby.

Cannon shot had him walking like a drunk as he moved towards the platform where Ace was held.

"Impressive moves Kuma, but you'll find that anyone can use a powerful charge up attack. Observe."

With my power to generate shadows, I began my attack by forming a spinning javelin. I preceded to wrap and condense the javelin made of shadow tighter and tighter with new shadows as fast as I could generate them. With every fold, the javelin would spin faster. All I concentrated on was folding and weaving as much as I could. When I finally sensed Oars Jr. about to get to close, I released the shadow made missile directly at his stomach.

"Javelin Arc!" I shouted the name of my attack.

Seconds later, it made impact. About a quarter of Oars Jr.'s stomach was shredded, prompting him to immediately collapse. He was either dead, or fainted. Either way, I was going to make sure of the job. Dad always said that if you were going to start a job, that you better finish it.

"Oars!"

"Fucking government pig! You betrayed all pirates!"

"Oars, no!"

With a mighty roar, I asserted control of the javelin before it entirely lost its shape, and rammed it into the back of Oars' skull. Blood and bone matter flew everywhere. Sadly, the javelin had lost most of its momentum, as well as the shadows binding it together. Otherwise, he'd be short one head.

Absolute silence greeted me from the Marines side. What, isn't this what a hero is supposed to do? Defeat giant monsters in a gory fashion?

"M-Monster…" Several Marines around me gulped, fear palpable in their eyes. Fuck, I shouldn't have even thought I'd be treated like a hero. If it's a monster they want, it's a monster they'll get.

"Ki shi shi shi! That was only a taste of my power! All will bow down before the Ruler of Shadows!" I grandstanded. I hope that the den den mushi is recording this. Take that, you bear prick! Hell, Doflamingo can't even hope to claim I'm too weak for the Shichibukai after this performance. Reflecting on my attack, it wasn't too bad considering the charge up time. All in all, my attack took somewhere between ten to thirty seconds. Not to practical in a fast pace fight, but great against a static enemy.

_Katcha Katcha_

Woah! I barely swapped out the top of my head with Doppleman's as a bullet passed right through me.

"You and me, we're gonna have a reckonin, punk!" A green melon capped man in a pink shirt, and camo pants held two smoking guns as he shouted at me.

Wait, _two _smoking guns? Pride may have gotten the best of me.

* * *

**AN: Some crazy shit's about to unfold. **


	10. Chapter 10

Being shot is not the most pleasant sensation. Fortunately for me, either by some miracle, Hogback's surgery, or Moria's natural constitution, the bullet didn't break skin. My chest may not have been penetrated by a bullet, but it sure hurts. Feels like getting hit by a dozen paintballs all in one spot. A shot from one of those pistols in the eye would make me blind, or a couple of hits in the same spot could wound me. Not to mention the bazooka he has strapped to his back. If I can stall until the curtain wall is raised, then I would've demonstrated my prowess, and usefulness as a Shichibukai. I'm not dying for _Justice_ or some asshole World Noble's, thank you very much.

In the melee between Marine and pirate, the two fighting forces formed a mosh of mostly static fighters. Perfect.

"Ki shi shi shi! If that angered you bucket hat, then you're going to love this!" The shadows of about a dozen nearby pirates dragged across the ground in my direction. As they gathered closer, I grasped them up, and cut them from their tether. A string of pirates suddenly disintegrated in the bright sunlit morning.

"NO!"

"Biscuit!"

"Avenge us Curiel-san!"

"The Division Commander will save us!"

A string of crestfallen pirates cried out in shock at their friend's sudden disappearance. In response, Curiel's face firmed up, and a hail of bullets were launched my way.

"To late!" I emerged behind him having swapped with Doppleman. A host of shadow spears shot out towards him the second I switched. Unfortunately, he dodged, and even managed to send half a dozen shots my way while he was rolling. A quick swap with Doppleman, and I had to instantly summon a barrier of shadow which was being quickly depleted by Curiel's rapid fire.

As the fight raged on, my ability to stall out till the curtain wall was raised looked bleaker and bleaker. This fight is intense! Nothing like when I subjugated those weaklings on Thriller Bark. I'm just barely dodging his shots in time. I've already had to swap out parts of my body with Doppleman several times. I would use the shadows from Curiel's weapons to mix up my attacks, but he was incredibly fast! He even learned to shoot at Doppleman when I swap body parts, and now I have a new welt on my shoulder.

"Yer washed up Moria! To slow, and ya lack finesse! I've read yer techniques, and I've gotta lock on ya. Ya betta start prayin to Kami, cuz not a soul here gonna cry over yer sorry ass." Curiel mocked me as he moved in to close the distance.

He's right. At this rate, I'm going to lose. He's consistently shooting at where I'm forming my shadow attacks. And no matter how hard I try to harass him with Doppleman from behind, he'll just dodge, or kite backwards. He's a Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, so he must have haki. I vaguely remember him being unable to damage Akainu, that means he can't have armament. So he must have observation haki, that would explain his god-like reflexes.

"Hah~ I didn't want to go all out this early, you know? Although it looks like I'll be late to the party." Around the battlefield, cannon balls, bullets, and swords created a cacophony of slaughter. To the side, huge shockwaves shook the bay as Mihawk and another Division Commander went at it. "Looks like your friend with the mustache and roses over there isn't doing so well."

"Enough chitchat, die!" Curiel unslung his bazooka, and fired a salvo at my location with one hand, and fired at Doppleman with a pistol in his other hand.

"I have to thank your friends for this new form of mine, without it, this wouldn't be possible." Emerging from Curiel's shadow, I stabbed him in the back. Once again, he dodged to the side, and I only scored a glancing blow to his shoulder.

"What the hell did ya do to yerself! Answer me creature!"

"Oh bucket hat, don't you recognize your friends?" I stood before him clad in the shadows of the pirates I had taken earlier. My entire body was covered head to toe in shadow.

"What you see before you is all that remains of them. You can thank the Rolling Pirates for my discovery. Store a shadow in a pocket, what a ludicrous idea! Ki shi shi shi! When I fought one of them, he consumed a large amount of shadows, and entered a berserker rage. And so, I thought to myself, 'what would happen if I wore the shadows around me like armour?'

Emerging from the shadow of his gun, I scored a slash on his chest. As soon as he returned fire, I emerged from his shadow, and scored another blow on the same shoulder from earlier. This time the attack had some bite to it. As a result, Curiel's arm gave out, and he could no longer support the weight of his bazooka.

"Like my new technique? I call it 'shadow hop."

A new barrage was sent my way as I grinned like a loon the entire time.

"It's a shame really. I can only hold this form now for ten minutes, and as of now, only hold about a dozen shadows. Or that this armour can only be formed by the shadows of people, and not ones I generate. Could I challenge a Yonko if I could hold it for a day? What if I used a hundred shadows? A thousand!?" I smirked, proud of my work, and reveling in this newfound power.

"I'll kill you in less than one" Curiel spat a wad of blood from his lips, and bullets started coming at me faster than ever before. His shoulder may prohibit him from wielding a bazooka, but he could still dual wield pistols.

In my new state, my speed and reaction times were markedly faster. There wasn't a strength boost, that seems to be exclusive to when someone absorbs a shadow. However, the speed boost was something else. Even with my short stubby legs, I could probably out run a bullet.

As the fight escalated, I dodged into the shadows of pirates as they were locked in combat with Marines, and would use them as meat shields. Occasionally stopping to stab them in the back.

"It's the Shichibukai, waste him!" Several pirates noticed my appearance, and unloaded on me. I may be faster, and able to tank quite a few hits, but if I lost the shadow form, I'd lose my speed, and my teleportation. In response, I became one with the ground. Having adopted the form of a shadow, I went completely flat.

"Gah!"

"Zuckerburg, you team killing bastard!"

"It wasn't me, I swear!"

My quick dodge saw the deaths and injuries of over a dozen pirates who had shot at me.

"He's not a Logia type guys, his shadows can be destroyed, keep firing!" Curiel urged them on.

Even more bullets started being shot my way, a couple even managed to strike my armour, slowing me down as I lost some of the shadow covering me.

"Tch." All this shadow hopping is starting to take a toll on me, both mentally and physically. Much like the stress put upon Luffy whenever he uses his 'gear' attacks, this form also puts great stress on my body. However, most of it's mental. I'm assaulted by odd notions, and sensations when I cover myself in shadow. It's almost like I can see a world that's not there.

"Knock, knock. Had enough time day dreaming?" A smirking Curiel stood just a few meters away. His guns were pointed directly at my face.

Time seemed to slow as I sensed the bullets flying towards me. It felt like some kind of bat sonar, or echolocation as I saw a 3D image of myself, Curiel, and a muddled view of the rest of the bay. The trajectory of each shot was clear to me in vivid detail. He double shot, and in some cases, triple shot into some locations, to make sure that I would be wounded. Bullets were sent in every direction one could imagine. Behind his allies towards their shadows, towards the ground in front of, and behind me, towards Doppleman. There was no escape. As a desperate gamble, I shadow hopped behind Curiel, hoping to stop his attack.

"Yer as predictable as a house tour. To call ya surface level, would be an insult to the ground floor." Curiel flicked his wrist, and he got out over one hundred bullets in a couple of seconds. My armour took about a dozen shots before I swapped with Doppleman. The bullets he had shot at Doppleman had all been dodged, or he had opened gaps to let the bullets pass.

"Yer gonna have ta do better than that, now won't you?" Curiel wore a mad grin, and approached me with his glasses tinted.

My speed drastically lowered; I was starting to pant from all the physical exertion. Additionally, the couple places where I was hit were starting to feel a little sore as the adrenaline started to wear off. Not good.

No, I won't lose, I can't lose! All of my most devastating attacks take at least ten seconds of set-up. After stealing the shadows of his comrades, Curiel hasn't given me a moment to think! If I survive this, I'm going to need a training montage.

"I am Gecko Moria, Shichibukai, prepare to die!" I jumped into the air, and formed wings on my back. Revealing another trump card I'd rather keep secret from the world at large. Copying Kizaru, I unleashed a torrent of spears and javelins towards Curiel. Mine couldn't explode, but they were incredibly sharp. He sidestepped most of them, and shot those he couldn't dodge. At the same time, I had Doppleman attack him from the rear. He could only attack me a handful of times, which I easily dodged. Like this, I had him on the defensive, hopefully he'll make a mistake, and I can exploit the opening.

Now that I could get a breath of fresh air, I decided to open my senses, and take in the surroundings. Doflamingo was fighting Diamond Jozu, unlike in canon, it looks like he was unable to take over his body with strings. My money is on Jozu's Devil Fruit protecting him.

A bright flash and the sound of blades rapidly clashing sounded on the far side of the bay, where Mihawk, and The Rose, Vista were in a sword clash for the ages. Mihawk's cape had been torn in multiple places, and Vista was missing half his mustache, as well as an ear.

Boa Hancock was turning every man she saw into stone. If she saw a female pirate, or Marine, she would deliberately refrain from harming them. Each hit from her would turn a person's body part to stone. One Marine took a direct hit to the head, his face was frozen in an expression of love. What a sad way to go.

Kuma was still standing on the platform from earlier, and occasionally shooting laser beams from his mouth into crowds of soldiers. I wonder if a cyborg can use haki? Would they take haki from their brains/hearts, and transfer it to the cybernetic limbs, like how Zoro transfers haki to his swords?

Anyway, Squardo is standing in the shadow of Whitebeard. Squardo is standing in the shadow of Whitebeard, excellent! That means I just have to keep up this offensive, and then I'll be able to take five after his betrayal.

And Marco is…Danger!

"Kuh!" I spat out a mouthful of blood as I was kicked down into the ice by Marco. Cracks formed all around my massive body from the impact. I'm not overly damaged, but most of my shadow armour left me, and is incredibly thin. It's barely clinging to my body by a thread.

"I had it under control Marco. Ya dun need ta interfere. But if yer gonna help, take care o'his shadow clone." Curiel remarked.

"Heh, you're welcome Curiel. You take care of ugly, I've got the shadow clone." Marco finished the byplay by flying up into the air, rocketing towards Doppleman.

"Well, well, well. It's been near ten minutes. Looks like yer times up." With that, he walked up to my prone form, and aimed his pistols downward right into my eyes. The twin barrels of his pistols encompassed my entire focus. "Nighty night."

"Ga!" Curiel screamed as my attack landed.

"Hn" I grunted, almost passing out from the pain. Sticking out of my chest were two tendrils made of shadow. Curiel was in a similar state, with the two tendrils piercing his chest. He had been standing so close, and with victory assured. Even with haki, he would've never expected I'd harm myself to end him.

"You fool." He coughed a mouthful of blood. "You've killed us both!"

"Ki ka shi ka" I coughed mid laugh. "I avoided all of my major organs, and these shadows can do more than just stab you!" at the end of my statement, Curiel realized the truth in my words, and attempted to raise his guns.

"No, you don't." The shadows piercing his back wrapped around his arms, restraining them. The bindings around his arms wouldn't last terribly long, for a sniper he's surprisingly strong. I have to finish this quickly.

"Getting tough to breath isn't it? Be a good nakama, and wait for Ace in hell!" My shadows inside his body turned to spikes, and proceeded to enter his blood stream. Every capillary, every pour, every crevice within his body had a tiny shadow tendril.

"Goodbye Mr. Curiel." With a squeeze of my fist, I commanded the tendrils in his body to explode. A spray of blood shot in every direction as Curiel was exsanguinated.

"Ugh, I hate messy kills like that." Reflecting on that kill, I wonder if I could've fought that any better? If I swapped a part of myself with Doppleman for an attack, or formed an attack, he'd just dodge, and then kill me from a distance. And Marco was suppressing Doppleman, so I couldn't switch.

"C-Commander Curiel!"

"Curiel-san! You can't be dead!"

"The Shichibukai Gecko Moria has slain a Whitebeard Division Commander. OHHH!"

"Ura!"

A cacophony of calls, shouts, and cries met my victory. Heh, what am I beating myself up for, I killed a Whitebeard Division Commander. Now to take a couple of these shadows out of my pocket, from Thriller Bark, hulk up a bit, and heal these wounds….I could've used those shadows as a new armour, and shadow hopped to safety. "Stupid!" I facepalmed. At least I can hang back till the curtain wall goes up in a minute.

I showcased my might before the whole world, and the World Government won't have an excuse to kill me or replace me. Hey, maybe I can cash in Curiel's bounty! A quick glance at Curiel's mangled remains. Pretty sure the World Government needs at least a head as proof. Well, at least I'm alive, and newly healed. "Today's a good day." I felt relief and joy at meeting, and even exceeding my objective.

"Something good about killing my sons. Hm, boy?" A masculine voice from not to far away sounded out.

* * *

**AN: So, Moria's power with zombies is different in the Thriller Bark arc vs the Marineford battle. So I decided to combine some elements from both. The bodies of people who touch sunlight get disintegrated, **_**but **_**their shadows can still be used. I might put a time limit on how long the shadows of the deceased can be used for depending on viewer feedback, or if their one nerf is they can't be used in a zombie. **

**Also, how has Moria been keeping up with Curiel this whole time you might ask? Was the Resort Island Arc filler, or was it actually supposed to advance the plot? XD**


	11. Chapter 11

The clouds are so pretty. I always wanted to fly. Who wouldn't want that ability? It's such a liberating idea. Flight. Oh, is that a bird. "Hello birdy. Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away." I smiled. As I passed by, its eyes bulged out and it squawked, flapping its wings to get away as fast as possible. Up, up, up and away! I've flown so high now, my eyes must be deceiving me, is that an island floating in the sky? Well, it's not that bad of a dream, I also have always wanted to visit a castle in the sky, an island is pretty cool too though. Huh, I seem to have stopped going up.

"Hey, what gives!" I shouted towards the sky as I waved my fist about. As gravity reasserted itself, I flipped around, and faced the ground. All around me was a massive and perfectly circular ring made out of clouds. Inside the ring, it appeared to be nothing but endless ocean. Wait, is that an island? How did I get here?

As I was thinking about it, a strong pain in my gut caused me to gasp. "Ah! What could've caused this kind of pain?" I took a deep breath trying to recall what happened. I think it's something to do with a fist! Yes, a fist, a white mustache, and a terrifying, all encompassing spine tingling off green afterglow.

Suddenly, giant fists of magma interrupted my reverie. Dozens of the things soon turned into hundreds. Curled fists, the size of two double decker buses surged into the heavens! Magma fists? H-hot! Just passing by me, I can feel the incredible heat coming from these fists.

I fell ever closer towards a crescent shaped island in my descent. Ships fought in the horizon, and the sound of artillery being fired began assaulting my ears. A couple of the magma fists landed on the bay, causing large amounts of steam to occlude my vision. A moment later, the horizon was covered by an eerily familiar light. It's that pale light from my memories! Within seconds, that light flashed a dozen times, and I was once again blown back into the clouds. Along with my tumultuous flight, the hundreds of fists in that were nearing impact crumbled to rocks, and dust, flung far away from the island.

"What the." a small boulder struck me and broke apart on my face. Causing a slight stinging sensation. Wait a minute, this isn't a dream! I've never felt pain before in a dream! I didn't think about that dull pain from earlier because I was so enraptured by the majesty that is the sky. Suddenly, the events of today assaulted my psyche all at once. This isn't a dream! This is a nightmare!

* * *

"Kuzan, you froze the bay to deep!" Akainu growled as yet more of his flaming fists of Justice were swept away by Whitebeard.

"Ara, ara. No need for such anger Sakazuki, you know as well as I that the bay was the best place to trap them. Besides, I was simply completing the orders I was given." Aokiji casually spoke to Akainu with his hands in pockets, adopting a relaxed posture.

Akainu grit his teeth, and was about to say more when Sengoku interrupted them. "Enough! Sakazuki, you're not going to melt the ice from here, Whitebeard will keep destroying your attack. Make your way to the bay, and melt the ice! If we delay for one second, the curtain wall won't go up in time. Your ploy has already been foiled, and we've lost a Shichibukai. Fortunately, I had the den den cut before Whitebeard landed his attack, saving us a little face. Cheh, don't fail me in this Sakazuki! Justice, world peace, and the future of the era are on the line."

Akainu jumped down towards the bay without a word to Sengoku. His shadowed face, and occasionally bursting bubbles of magma were the only indicator towards his mental state.

"Bwahahahaha, that boy never could stomach failure! It's just like when he was a recruit all over again!" Garp gripped his sides, laughing deeply at Akainu's moody display.

Sengoku's grim face was all that met Garp's attempt at levity. A glance, and Garp's laughter suddenly cut off. "You feel it to Garp…We're old, Garp. The world is about to enter a new era, and won't have a place for us. I know this pains you, but as the nakama I can trust most in this world. The one who's been with me through it all. Help me this one last time."

* * *

**Flashback**

Standing in line was a group of Navy recruits being addressed by a Marine Captain. "Alright men! Over the next six months, I'm going to turn you into Marines! Here you'll learn about honor, duty, and Justice!"

"Ura!" the new recruits cheered at the Captain's proclamation.

"Justice!" The Marine Captain shouted again, raising his fist in the air.

"Justice!" the recruits shouted back, trying to surpass the Captain in volume.

"Just-Young man!" the Captain shouted out.

"Young man!" the recruits copied the Captain again.

"You there!" when no response was forthcoming, the Captains face reddened like an overripe tomato.

The entire groups attention was brought to one recruit at the front. He stood tall with a snot bubble expanding and retracting. Soft snores could be heard by those who stood close to him. All the scrutiny caused a certain afro haired, and bespectacled recruit to shrink in on himself as to not attract attention.

"I said you there!" The Captain marched up to the snot bubble man, and slapped him as hard as he could with the back of his hand. In response, the sleeping man reached out, and punched the Captain, popping his snot bubble, causing him to wake up.

As the Captain lay in a heap of dust, it quickly became apparent to the new recruits that he'd fallen unconscious.

"Captain!"

"Who was the bastard who knocked out the symbol of Justice!"

"I saw it all! It's that tall guy with the afro!"

"Justice!"

"JUSTICE!"

"MARINES!"

Various recruits called out, and whipped themselves into a frenzy, hellbent on getting revenge for the Captain.

"N-no guys, it really wasn't me." Afro called out raising his arms defensively.

"Ah? You all looking for a fight?" Looking around, the formerly sleeping man noticed a group of angry recruits forming a circle around him and another guy.

"Hey, Afro you look pretty strong. Looks like these guys are gunning for us, I'll take the group on the left, you take the group on the right." The man made a crazed grin as battle was about to commence.

"W-wait! My names-" as Afro was about to tell the wild man his name, he subconsciously dodged a punch, and counter attacked. His opponent went flying into the crowd, taking down five other new recruits.

"I knew I saw something in you Afro, let's start this inauguration with a bang! Doryaa!" the wild man waded into the crowd.

"He's crazy." A small smile appeared on Afro's lips as he turned towards his side of the fight. Cracking his knuckles, a grim chuckle escaped his mouth. "Bring it on!"

As the battle had come to a close the two men ended back to back, sweat dripped into their eyes, and their clothes were coated in scuffs, tears, and dirt smears.

"Say, I never did get your name back there. My names Sengoku by the way."

"The names Garp, Monkey D. Garp! I see great things for us in the future, Afro! We're going places!" Garp grandstanded, lifting his arms into the air.

"It's Sengoku! Sen-Go-Ku! Ga!" Sengoku got into a tussel with Garp wrestling on the ground.

"Bwahahahaha!" Meanwhile, Garp laughed the entire time.

"Stop laughing damnit!"

"BWAHAHAHA!" Garp laughed even harder.

"GAAAAAAARP!"

* * *

"Look Zepher, I have a son! Fleet Admiral Kong, look! I have a son!" Garp waved his son about Marine Headquarters with glee.

"Sengoku! Sengoku, I have a son!" Garp barged into the room.

"Gah! Damnit Garp! I'm on the crapper!" Sengoku covered his unmentionables with a newspaper.

"Bwahahahaha! He'll be a proud, strong Marine!" Garp beamed, shoving his son towards Sengoku without a care in the world.

"G-Garp!" Sengoku dropped the newspaper, and quickly grabbed the child. In his arms was a curious babe with a shaggy black head of hair.

"That's my friend Sengoku, a great hero of the Marines! I wouldn't trust any other man with my back. Say hi Dragon!" Garp pointed a thick finger at the afro haired, glasses wearing man.

"Goku! Goku!" little Dragon clapped his hands in happiness.

"He's saved the world many times, treat your godfather with respect. Later Sengoku, I've got some things to do in East Blue!" Garp waved at Sengoku, and left in a hurry.

"Wait, Garp, Garp! Huh?" In his arms a little baby had a snot bubble, and snuggled into his arms. Sengoku smiled, and adjusted his grip to make sure little Dragon had a comfortable position.

"I walked over to see what the commotion was, but all I saw was a grown man with his pants down taking care of a child. Typical Sengoku."

"Wait Tsuru, it's not what it looks like! It's Ga-" Raising his voice had agitated Dragon, and he was about to wake up. 'Oh no, Garp's son is going to cry! If this gets out, Tsuru will ridicule me endlessly!' "Hush little Dragon, don't you cry, Uncle Goku's gonna hold you tight. When you wake, there will be food for you to take, as much meat as you can eat." Dragon snuggled further into his arms, and relaxed after Sengoku sang his lullaby.

* * *

"I'm sorry Garp." Sengoku clasped Garp's shoulder in solidarity.

Garp sobbed his soul out. He grasped onto one of Sengoku's legs as support, clenched in his other hand was a wanted poster. "Why Sengoku, why! On the anniversary that she left us no less! He was such a bright boy, the future of the Marine's! We wanted him to be happy. We were so happy. Where did I go wrong Sengoku?" Garp looked up, lost in sorrow. Searching. Searching for anything that could give him hope.

Gripping his shoulder even harder, Sengoku didn't have any answers for his long time friend of more than twenty years. "I'm sorry Garp." A small tear found its way into his budding beard.

After some time had passed, Sengoku had decided that enough was enough. "C'mon, let's go lock up some pirates Garp. That always makes you laugh. Hey, if you get more pirates than me this time, I'll shave my afro." Sengoku tried to cheer up his friend, wiping his eyes, and adopting a painfully happy face.

As they left Sengoku's office, they came across Vice-Admiral Tsuru. "Bwahahaha! That'd be a sight! Hey Tsuru-chan, Sengoku's going to shave his afro!"

"Sengoku, the hairless wonder, you'll have to find a new nickname for him after this. Perhaps, baldy?" Tsuru showed a reserved smile towards Garp.

"Bwahahaha, you hear that!? After this, you'll be Baldy!"

"Who you calling Baldy, you wild Monkey!"

Sengoku and Garp bickered until they boarded the ship on their pirate hunting expedition.

"Hey Afro." Garp called out.

Sengoku turned around at his old nickname.

"Thanks." Garp said, facing the sea.

* * *

**Present**

An explosion of power shocked the entire island as two great existences collided in the bay.

"It's begun." Sengoku's eyes hardened, and he glanced one more time at Garp, searching for something.

"I'm with you...Afro."

* * *

**AN: Short chapter, taking a course over the summer, so slow updates. Will be doing some 3****rd**** person pov ch's to depict some of the epic fights I have planned. Maybe a Whitebeard pov, or Akainu pov. At Marineford, which characters would you like to see go all out? As you can see, Whitebeard is going to be much more proactive. If you can't read between the lines, Squardo didn't go traitor, meaning Whitebeard wasn't shocked or injured. **


	12. Chapter 12

"A-Admiral Akainu."

"The Admiral, Akainu has appeared on the battlefield!"

"Kiss my ass punk!"

"Kill him pops!"

A variety of Marine's and pirates cheered, and jeered at the sight of Akainu.

"Gura ra ra ra, you dare stand in my way, little Marine? Stand aside, you're no match for a wrathful father." Whitebeard grinned at Akainu from a dozen feet away.

"Your time is over Whitebeard, for both you, and your lackies." At the end, Akainu glared at Squardo who was to Whitebeard's side.

"You had me doubt my family Akainu. I'm going to repay what you made me feel tenfold! It's going to be a massacre!" Squardo licked his blade in violent anticipation.

"Stand back Squardo, you're no match for him. Everyone! Stand back! This isn't an opponent you can take lightly!" At Whitebeards shout, the pirates stood back, giving Whitebeard a large berth.

"Don't stop advancing, scale the walls! Use Oars Jr. to enter Marineford. His sacrifice wasn't in vain!" Marco ordered the assembled pirates.

"I'll take the right, you guys go left! Divide and conquer." Squardo gestured for the allied pirates to follow him.

"Ohhh!"

"We're coming to save you Ace!"

"For Curiel!"

The pirates regained their moral and began to advance towards Marine lines.

"Your men sure are fired up. I've never seen someone cheer so loudly while going towards their grave before." Akainu taunted Whitebeard.

"Hmph." With a swing of his bisento, Whitebeard launched several devastating strikes at Akainu. One horizontal slash, followed by a diagonal, and vertical slash saw three crescents of pure power launched at his position.

With a flare, Akainu literally erupted. Three large cones of magma launched from his body to intercept Whitebeard's attack. The pressure behind Akainu's attack created it's own shockwave, and left a heavy trail of smoke in its path. Ice rapidly melted as his attack raced forwards. When the combination attacks collided, the energy behind both attacks mostly cancelled each other out.

"Cheh." With one haki coated hand, Akainu blocked the remaining force behind Whitebeard's attack.

"Gura ra ra ra." Bisento in hand, Whitebeard advanced. Every step he took, he swung his weapon in alternate arcs to test his opponents defense.

Every swing Akainu failed to block or cancel out added to the damage of the wall behind him. Eventually, the majority of the harbor had crumbled, and turned into an easily scalable wall.

"Akainu, now!" Sengoku shouted out.

With a magma empowered jump, Akainu flew backwards into the crowd of Marines. At the same time, Whitebeard launched another crescent energy attack. In the air, Akainu didn't have enough time to dodge, and was ragdolled into a group of Marines. His Logia type body prevented most of the damage, but the same couldn't be said for the Marines.

"A-Admiral."

"My skin!"

"Aaaah!"

Cries of shock and horror met Akainu's fall. A dozen Marines lay on the ground, burning in pain, or in silence. The dead's complete immolation left nothing but a blackened, crisp, corpse. The sweet scent of barbequed humans wafted into the air.

"Feast your eyes men, this is the true face of Justice! Forward!" Whitebeard gestured with his weapon, and a new wave of pirates surged towards the gap Whitebeard had created.

* * *

Wow. After being one shot by Whitebeard, I can safely say that I don't want to draw the attention of any other Yonko anytime soon. If Shanks does show his face at this war, than I'll be sure to stay far, far away. Now that I know that I'm _not _in a dream where I'm flying, let's get our priorities straight.

The way I see it, I've got two options. One, fly off into the sunset, and pray the World Government doesn't chase me, or send killers after me once they realize I'm alive. Or two, join the fight against the pirates. One quick look downward, and the conflict between Whitebeard and Akainu is all I need to know that I don't want any of that. However, the explosions happening in the water quickly drew my attention away from the conflict in the bay.

"Ah, I smell an opportunity.". Down below, dozens if not hundreds of ships were duking it out in the ocean. A handful of pacifista were destroying pirate ships, and a few of the Marine battleships had been overrun by pirates. I may not want to risk it all on the island, but how could I say no to free ships, and free zombies? Maybe I'll even capture a pacifista. A devilish smirk appeared on my face.

My first target was a Marine battleship taken over by pirates. If I can get a zombie crew, than I could sail it into the Calm Belt, have it rendezvous with Absalom, and repurpose it for my personal use. If it's caught, the Marines won't know that they're zombies, and will just assume the ship was taken by Whitebeard's subordinates.

As I landed on the ship, I reached out with my senses. Only 300 pirates? Easy.

"Gecko Moria!?"

"I thought Pops took care of that scum!"

"Hiiii!"

As I swooped down on the deck, some pirates shot at me, others charged, but a not insignificant number fled deeper into the ship, or jumped into the ocean.

"Goodbye small fry." A mass of shadow covered my body, blocking all of the bullets fired at me. A second later, shadowy tentacles snaked their way from my shadow, and struck everyone on deck. Over one hundred pirates were instantly killed, with a hole in their chest. About another hundred were completely restricted, wrapped so tight that they couldn't even wiggle.

Over the course of two minutes, I preceded to create wolves, bats, snakes, jackals, cougars, and all sorts of creatures to clear out the rest of the ship for me.

"Go! Kill all who resist! Bring out those who surrender to the brig." At my command, hundreds of shadow creatures entered the hull of the ship. Since the shadow creatures made were silent, the only sound that could be heard were the screams, and shouts of the pirates as they entered mortal combat.

After about ten minutes, I directed Doppleman into the ship, since I was to big to fit in by myself. I swapped my eyes and mouth out with him, and had the shadow creatures carry the remaining prisoners on the deck down within the brig. Along the way, I noticed many Marine corpses, and as I reached the ships brig, there were also a few dozen injured Marines held prisoner as well. What a steal!

As I approached a colorfully dressed fellow wearing an orange ascot, I could see fear deep in her eyes. Waterfall like tears drenched her bloodstained clothes. "Well, well, well, what have we here?"

"W-What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to do the best I can. Ki shi shi shi shi!"

"Gecko Moria, a Shichibukai? We're saved!" One of the conscious Marines saw my appearance, and interrupted my chat with the pirate. Looks like he's one of the locked up prisoners. Hope was vibrant in his eyes.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but you aren't comprehending the position that you're in. It's hopeless, it's finished, you haven't got a prayer, because I'm the Shichibukai Moria. And you aren't going, nowhere." At the end of my statement, I reached out to his shadown, and with a snip, he fell down unconscious.

With the struggling shadow in hand, I stuffed it into one of the many corpses lying around. A second later, I had a new zombie minion.

"Monster!"

"What did you do to Giermo?"

"Ki shi shi shi. Ki shi shi shi shi! So long as you're missing a shadow, one step in the sunlight will see you disintegrate! Don't you get it? You have no hope of escape! Abandon any notion of mutiny! You'll never see the sun ever again!" I decided to instill fear in their hearts. Moria had a system of catch and release, that's foolish. If the host dies, then his zombie would lose its shadow. However, if I keep the prisoners, I could pull a Doflamingo, and have them work in underground sweatshops.

After my announcement, pandemonium broke out. Screams, threats, and the pleas of the damned went unanswered. Better to be the monster, than to be the victim. I consoled myself. I systematically removed the shadows of the living, and placed them into the newly animated dead.

To take my mind off the mind numbing experience, I sang "Another one bites the dust" by Queen to distract myself.

"And another one gone, and another one, another one bites the dust." I ripped more and more shadows from their original owners. "Hey, he's gonna get you too, another one bites the dust!"

About ten minutes later, it was all done. In total, I must've spent something like fifteen minutes clearing the ship, and creating new zombies. I had a small predicament where there were more corpses than shadows to put them into. "Eh, I'll just put them in cold storage or something when they reach Thriller Bark."

"Hey you, Marine Captain. Sail this ship through the Calm Belt to the East Blue, here's a den den mushi number. Call it for further instructions when you reach your destination. If you come across another Marine battleship, you're all to pretend that you're official Marines. If they inspect you anyway, jump into the ocean, and destroy all evidence. This is an order"

"Yes sir!" The Zombie Marine Captain saluted, and went to relay my command.

Woah, that's some extreme turbulence! I swapped my eyes and mouth back to my original body, and saw a sight to behold. A quarter of Marineford had sank into the Ocean. And maintaining balance on the deck had become near impossible. Just what is going on?!

* * *

"My boys, look at how you massacred my boys! You're going to die today Marines!" An infuriated Whitebeard cried out. His half melted face and missing hand gave Whitebeard a grotesque appearance. To the side, the 5th Division Commander, the Rose Vista had been decapitated by Hawkeyes Mihawk, on the other side, the 3rd Division Commander, Diamond Jozu had been frozen completely. Both inside and out.

"And I'm going to start with you." At Whitebeard's feet was the broken body of Admiral Akainu! He was prone on his back, gasping for air.

"Die!" With one almighty push, Whitebeard ascended to the sky. When he came back down, he was like a meteor sent from the heavens.

With a last ditch effort to save his life, he transformed into a puddle of pure magma. Attempting to escape down into the island.

"That won't be enough to save you! GO. TO. HELL!" He hit Akainu with such force, hundreds of weaker Marines and pirates spat blood and faded to the realm of unconsciousness. Akainu wasn't half as lucky, his end was nigh. In his death, Akainu had one last trump card. Suicide. With a mighty roar, Akainu put all his will into one, last mighty eruption!

"JUSTICE. NEVER. DIES!"

A thick pillar of pure magma erupted from Whitebeard's position. In but a moment, Whitebeard was entirely encapsulated.

"Ra!" With a shout, a sphere of power emanated from Whitebeard, flinging magma onto friend and foe alike.

Missing half a foot, and covered in terrible burns, Whitebeard supported himself on his half melted bisento, the weapon was in twisted parody with it's owner. Bowed, but not broken.

"Ace, we're coming for you my son." Whitebeard stood tall, his voice still carrying unfathomable strength.

"No no no no no! Pops, everyone, please. Please! Just run! Jozu, Curiel, Vista! It's too much, please!" Ace cried, and he cried, and he cried.

"If our morale plummets any further, we might lose this battle, let's go Garp, just like old times."

"Just like old times." With a grunt, Garp and Sengoku jumped down from the execution platform.

* * *

**AN: A lot of people keep telling me Moria needs haki. My question to you is, do you know what mantra is? **


	13. Chapter 13

"Begin bombardment of the nearest pirate ship." I ordered my new zombie servants.

"Right away Captain!" My zombie crew saluted, and began loading the cannons, stumbling over limbs, and slipping on blood.

"And someone clean this mess up!" I scowled at the idiocy that was on display. A single New World pirate may be worth a hundred pirates from the East Blue, but no one said they were smart. One misstep with the gunpowder could see the ship go up in flames, ruining all the effort I put in to claiming the ship.

I took a moment to rest, battling Curiel, and getting decked by Whitebeard had taken a lot out of me. Sure, I was healed physically by absorbing shadows, but I was sore all over, and tired from the whole conflict. The adrenaline had already coursed through my body, and my mind was slightly numb from all the fighting. I have a feeling that if I hadn't absorbed the shadows of people used to conflict, I probably would've broken down by now.

For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to just relax on my bean bag, and never leave the Florian Triangle. But the thought left as soon as it arrived. After Marineford, the world would enter a new age of brutality. Between the Revolutionary Army, World Nobles, Marines, and new pirate factions, I doubt I'd be allowed to just disappear. Moria is too well known. Shichibukai or not, someone will be gunning for my head. Either for the bounty, the position of Shichibukai, or for revenge.

Firming my resolve, I decided I couldn't stop, not just yet. I had just cleared my third pirate ship, and this was a perfect opportunity to expand my forces. New world pirate and Marine corpses were ripe for the picking. One of these guys is probably worth one Luffy pre Alabasta. That's not incredibly strong, but a whole army of them would be a force to be reckoned with. They'll form the backbone of my new crew. Now all I need is to find worthy officers…

From what I could tell, all of the new world pirate Captains, and Marine Vice Admirals were fighting on the island. As far as I'm concerned, this sea battle is free real estate.

The air was becoming increasingly thick with smoke. Muskets and cannons went off almost every second here in the ocean. My ears were left ringing after my ship finally joined the battle. Wood splintered on the deck of our enemy ship, and a few men flew into the water.

"Hm, they won't expect a pirate ship opening up on them in the middle of a battle with the Marine's." I grinned to myself in expectation. I'd always wanted to see a ship battle ever since I saw Pirates of the Caribbean. With a wide grin, I was enjoying every second of it.

Their return salvo came moments later. Being pirates, I suppose they weren't as surprised as I assumed, they would be. No matter.

"Dark Crescent" around me, crescents made of shadow surged towards the opposing cannonballs. The sheer number of shadows I could create meant that not a single cannonball reached my ship. A few of my crescents went on to strike the opposing vessel, leaving large gashes on their hull.

I always thought it was lucky that Luffy and company could jump into the air, and bounce back every shot. I understood that the Marine's were just trying to find their range, but in a close quarters battle as vicious as this, every ship was giving it their all to sink their enemies.

"Ki shi shi shi shi! Shoot at every pirate vessel you can see! Board them, and cut them up! Take as many prisoners as possible!"

* * *

Aokiji took a deep breath at the lull in the battle Sakazuki's death had created. For a moment, the entirety of the Marines, and pirates had stood still at the death of an Admiral. Aokiji never considered someone with such strong views about Justice like Sakazuki to be a friend. But he had never wished harm on the man. At least with Sakazuki you knew he was going to enter every fight with 110%.

Looking around, Aokiji spotted naked disbelief on the face of nearly every Marine. For the rank and file, one of the pillars of the Marines had collapsed. It didn't matter how beat up Whitebeard looked. The cold hard truth was Whitebeard lived, and Admiral Akainu died. Marineford, the home of the Marine's families was in shambles, and a full quarter of the island had been obliterated in their power struggle.

"I-I surrender! Please, no more!" A low ranking Marine threw down his sword, and begged on his knees.

Before the low ranking Marine could bow his head to the ground in submission, a sword pierced his back.

"No insubordination! Whitebeard is on the brink of collapse! His officers lay in ruin, forward!" Finished with his execution, cum impromptu speech, Vice Admiral Doberman rushed back into the melee.

"Forward!" The veteran Marine's and officer's rushed into the fray.

"Sakazuki, I never saw eye to eye with you on most things, but I'll do my best by you as your comrade." A sad sigh escaped Aokiji's lips as the screams of the dying, and pleas of the wounded reached his ears.

"K-kill me, please." A gore covered pirate gasped out towards any who would hear him.

The face of a pirate twisted in agony greeted Aokiji's searching gaze. His chest had a small incision no more than a couple inches leaking copious amounts of blood. Death was nothing new to Aokiji, but it always amazed him how fragile the human body really is. A simple knock on the head could be lethal. It made him question the gift from Kami he was given. His Devil Fruit, the Hie Hie no mi. A magical fruit that made him a god among men.

Within a moment, the dying pirate was granted his final request. Shattered into a thousand pieces. The sound of wings flapping turned his attention to an approaching threat.

"Ironic, that the man with the body made of ice has a heart warmer than most Marines. I wonder. If I tear it out, will it bleed red? Or will it be blue, just like the coward that you are?"

"…." Running a hand through his messy hair, Aokiji never knew how to react to this kind of taunting. He was still lamenting over the senseless slaughter caused today. However, one thing was certain, this upcoming fight was sure to be interesting.

"I'm going to make you pay tenfold for what you did to Jozu." First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix addressed Aokiji. Simmering hatred was laced within every syllable, the flames around his body fluctuated wildly as his emotions got heated.

"And so, the cycle of hatred continues." Aokiji sighed. If it was up to him, this war would've never happened.

"You may think my hatred is getting the best of me, but I'm no simpleton. You can't get to the position I'm holding by being a berserker. No, this rage is focused." Behind the wrath, a calculating glint shined in Marco's eyes.

Marco transformed into his bird form from his semi-transformed state. The flames that had steadily been building up around him during his conversation were being swallowed into his open mouth. A split second later, a condensed beam of blue yellow fire shot out from his beak.

"Hyperbeam!" Marco called out his attack. The shot already halfway to Aokiji by the time Marco finished talking.

Aokiji's eyes widened in shock. His spars with Borsalino had aided in fighting fast opponents, but this kind of energy attack coming from a zoan was outside of his expectations.

Using his tried and true escape method, Aokiji broke his body into chunks of ice, to allow the beam to pass through. Although things were beginning to become uncomfortably hot.

"Didn't think that'd work again, did you Aokiji!?" Marco spat out. He flew low to the ground, flaring a cloak of flames melting stone and patches of ice that he passed by. And then he was upon Aokiji.

Reforming his body to meet the threat, Aokiji began to emit a frosty aura so cold, that some combatants nearby began to claw at their throats, unable to safely breath the freezing cold air.

Aokiji took a deep breath, inhaling as much air into his lungs as possible. With an exhale, hundreds of ice shards launched towards Marco's flying form. As they neared, they exploded creating massive concussions in the air.

Marco's flight was interrupted, causing him to stumble. The pressure imbalance had blood leak out of his orifices, his eyes cried bloody tears, and a torrent squirted out of his mouth. Seconds later, he healed the damage, and flew towards Aokiji with twice the fury.

Seeing that his attack had no effect, Aokiji redoubled his efforts, and launched a mass of snow and ice at Marco in an attempt to slow down his momentum.

Fully encased in the snow, Marco began to wade through, creating slush with his flames. "You can't put off the inevitable Aokiji. Let's see if you bleed!"

"Heart Burn!"

A flaming claw encased in armament haki flew out, scoring a searing blow on Aokiji's chest.

As they collided, Aokiji enveloped Marco in a massive bear hug. A freezing aura slowly began to spread across Marco's body.

"Ice Time." In a deep voice that echoed to the far ends of the island, Aokiji called out his technique.

**Ba-Dump**

A mouthful of blood drenched Marco's face, Aokiji's face finally changing from its neutral taciturn expression to one of unexpected pain. In contrast, the ice from Aokiji's attack had creeped up to Marco's waist in spite of his flame power. Despite all that, Marco wore a silly grin, sure in his victory.

"What do you know, it's red after all. I knew you couldn't resist enveloping me in an attack like this. You've done it to Jozu, and to hundreds if not thousands in your career as a Marine. I already told you. I didn't get to this position by being a simpleton.

"Kuh!" A fresh torrent of blood dribbled down Aokiji's chin.

"Hah! See? You're already starting to fade! You look befuddled, like some scratches on your chest shouldn't have done this much damage. Well, I'll give you a little mercy like you did that pirate earlier. You see, my flames not only melt things, or can be used to heal me. I can also use my flames _to heal others._" At the end of Marco's statement, a look of understanding came into Aokiji's rapidly fading eyes.

"Seeing you die in the agony of cardiovascular arrest is a fitting end. The way you treated Jozu is a terrible way to go. Your strategy to encase me in ice is pointless anyway. I'll simply melt my way out, and heal up within seconds. After I kill you, I'll help pops fight Garp and Sengoku, rescue Ace, and finally end this war. Have any final words?"

"…."

"Didn't think so. Two Admirals down, one to go." Breaking away from Aokiji, Marco flew into the air, speeding off towards the loudest explosions.

* * *

I was in complete awe. A few moments ago, an eruption occurred on Marineford the likes of which I've never seen. I've seen footage of volcano's spewing magma and lava everywhere, but that didn't prepare me for the sheer intensity behind Admiral Akainu's attack. Huge globules, the size of an average sized house spilled into the bay and beyond. What happened next was even more shocking. A pale sphere exacerbated the shock wave created by Akainu, and spread the fiery hot droplets kilometers away from the epicenter of the battle.

"Evasive maneuvers!" As I cried out my order, the ship nearly bowled over from the shock wave. Droplets of magma set fire to the sails in the middle of the turmoil.

"Put those flames out! Quickly!" I commanded the zombies. I was trying to relax a little here! Conquering these ships was supposed to be easy pickings! At the same time, my newly emerging sixth sense warned me of an imminent attack. "!"

"Kuh!" I barfed blood onto the tip of a sword. A cutlass? A cutlass is sticking out of my chest!

"Hiii hiii hiii hiii! It's good to see you again. Mo-rye-uh Kun~" A crooked high pitched voice was whispered into my ear.

"W-Who?" I struggled to get my bearing's, as the pain coursed through my system, and my vision went black for a split second.

"Oh? Don't you recognize Big Sis~ Elmy?" The 'Big Sis' then jiggled her sword, widening the wound and took a step back.

"Gah!" I gasped, and fell onto my knees. Looking up, I saw a tall rotund woman. Her face was aged, wrinkles readily lined her face. Long red hair, huge breasts that'd put Nami to shame, feathered tricorn hat, distinctive purple vest, and the fishnet leggings get-up was setting off bells inside my head. Was this old hag, 'Elmy' really related to Moria in some way?

"How-"

"How did I sneak up on you? Oh Moria-Kun, it was simple. You're always relying so much on that Devil Fruit of yours. I waited inside the ship, and defeated all of those shadow creatures of yours. It's nice to see you've finally moved on from bats, Big Sis is proud of you!" A smiling mouth full of crooked teeth greeted my inquiring gaze.

"F-fine!" My voice reached a new high pitch as I struggled to maintain my cool.

"You're going to regret not finishing me off immediately!" I think about ten shadows should be enough to heal a wound like this. Reaching out my hand to gather the shadows from some of the zombie crew, I was startled as the fat women _moved_.

"Hiii hiii hiii hiii! Nuh uh! You think I don't remember! You can't hide anything from family~" She flicked her sword still covered in my blood and _obliterated _the shadows I tried to gather to myself. All the while she gave me an infuriatingly smug grin.

This! My eyes went wide, my veins bulged, and I clenched my fists in rage. Taking a deep breath, I let it go. Rage undoubtedly can make attacks stronger in this world, but it could very easily turn into double-edged sword. Now's not the time to enter a blood rage. She's obviously baiting me.

Injured as I am, I don't know if I could face a person who's clearly a New World Captain. But if I can capture her…her shadow or corpse would make an excellent addition to my forces. To hell with it, if I pull back now, I'll lose this ship. Putting all of my previous efforts to waste.

I'm not too confident using my shadow armour after already using it earlier today. I'd probably be in a coma for a few days if I had to use it again in quick succession. I'm really going to need more training after this. Now how am I going to defeat her? If things look truly lost, I'll just make wings, and fly away. Wait a minute, wings!

"Ki shi shi shi! Ki shi shi shi!"

"What are you-"

"You see, you're not dealing with the same old Moria!" I spread my arms to gloat.

"Sure sounds like it." Elmy muttered in a dry voice.

"Behold!" I jumped into the air, and a pair of wings unfolded behind my back. At the same time, I gathered a small mass of shadow and slowly began to stitch my wounds. I wasn't the most proficient at it, but it was something I'd been forced to learn in school. Something to ask Doctor Hogback about when I get back to Thrillerbark.

"Zombies, attack that red haired pirate!" While the zombies hopefully distracted her for a second, it was time to go back to the basics. A swarm of javelins formed around me, and sped towards Elmy at breakneck speed. I was worried that I would damage the boat beyond all repair, but having such a strong servant would be more valuable than any ordinary New World pirate.

"Hiii hiii hiii hiii! Oh, you haven't changed as much as you think you have sweetie. You're the same showboating show off I remember! Come give Big Sis a hug!" With that, she launched herself at me, jumping off from the boat. I increased the intensity of my barrage, but she paid it no mind. Her sword flashed, sweeping aside the javelins with ease.

"Ha! You may've reached me, but you'll be helpless the second you fall down!" With that said, I began to immediately ascend to a higher altitude, so as to avoid her cutlass.

"This isn't my first time fighting an opponent who can fly you know." She pouted. A woman who's at least sixty, has the saggiest pair of breasts, and a mouth full of missing teeth just pouted at me.

"Now get back here, and take my love!" When it looked like I was in the clear, and she was about to fall back to Earth, she did the unexpected. She took an extra step, then another, and then one more still! Every step of hers jettisoned her further upwards towards myself.

Shit! How does she know the Moon Walk ability from the six powers? I quickly put my utmost effort into putting as much distance between us, launching attacks at her every second I flew away. Okay, calm down, that technique takes a huge amount of energy to maintain, I just have to outlast her, and…

"Got you!" A slash came down from above me.

"Later!"

_Shink_

"Ki shi shi shi! Forgot about Doppleman in all the excitement, have you? You'll never catch me with that Moon Walk technique! You might as well give up!" I shouted at her a good distance away.

"Oh Moria, you sweet child, it's called Geppo, and of course I didn't forget honey." Elmy's devilish smile, and a tingle on the back of my neck was my only warning to a new imminent threat.

Looking down, just a couple meters below me, another New World Captain was rushing towards me, using Geppo.

"Now, Whitey Bay!" The figure was a blur of blue and violet. I barely had enough time to erect a condensed shield of shadow to block the attack. It wasn't enough, as a haki covered blade pierced the barrier, and laid a deep slash across my midsection.

"Bitch!" I grimaced in pain at the new wound. Focus! I didn't have enough time to even do a rudimentary stitch job, so instead I got a mass of shadow, and slapped it against the wound.

"That how you treat your former romping partner, eh luv?" A distinctly British sounding accent came from the women in front of me.

"Although it's not that much of a surprise considering you left me to die when you fought Kaido." Righteous anger entered her voice as she scowled at me.

"…" I'm utterly confused. Moria…just what did you do to these women!?

* * *

**A/N: Will update a bit more frequently. The Marineford arc is almost over, would you guys be interested in a detailed Whitebeard/Garp/Sengoku/Marco fight, or prefer for Moria to advance the plot sooner? FYI, I consider Moria's current power level to be near/slightly above/slightly below the average New World Captain. Depends on his opponent, some people he won't be able to kill, but they won't be able to kill him either. **

**If you have Amazon Prime, watch "The Boys" Homelander and Butcher are the best characters. Homelander owns every scene he's in, he's hilarious. **

**Thank you for reading/reviews. **


	14. Chapter 14

"Heh heh heh heh heh-hah hah hah hah!" I let loose a laugh reminiscent of Mark Hamil's Joker. A hand covered my face in disbelief. The utter absurdity of it all! This event at Marineford was supposed to be a stroll in the park! I made sure the gate of Justice was closed, stopping Blackbeard's plot, and stopped Oars Jr. with a devastating attack, but then the situation went pear-shaped! I almost died to that melon cap Curiel, and now after seizing several ships, I'm being attacked by two New World Captains!

"Moria-kun?" A worried? voice entreated.

"He's lost his rocker Elmy, I've never heard him laugh like that before." Whitey Bay gave me an undiscernible look.

"It all began with that sword zombie guy. What was his name, Ryoma, Ryuji, Romain? I should've noticed something was different from the narrative as soon as his fight with Zoro had gotten Zoro seriously injured." I muttered to myself continuing to ignore my surroundings. It was all beginning to make sense now. People who I treated as nothing more than characters from an anime had their own free will, and weren't destined to any one predetermined role! Is this what they call epiphany?

"I feel kind of bad doing this Whitey Bay, maybe we should lock him up in a loony-bin?" Elmy lost her 'cheerful' persona, and turned to Whitey Bay.

"Not yet, I still haven't paid him back for abandoning me to Kaido." Whitey Bay clenched her teeth in anger.

"Ah, that's right, I'm still fighting this duo. That cutey Whitey Bay, and that horrid sea hag Elmy." I put my fist into my palm at the realization. I spaced out for a moment during the lull in our fight. That's something I really have to look into.

"Cutey?" A tint of red appeared on Whitey Bay's cheeks.

"!" Is Whitey Bay secretly a tsundere? Maybe I can use this to my advantage. The best victories are those you don't have to fight at all.

"Moria! You dare calling me! Calling me a h-hag?! A hag! Oh hoh hoh hoh~ forget all I said earlier Whitey Bay, let's beat him till he can't move for a year." Elmy's eyes constricted in anger, and she began frothing at the mouth.

"Ah, wait Elmy! Uhh, you're a stunning, beautiful woman. You're the bravest woman in the four Blue's!" I held my arms up to show I was innocent. Damnit, I thought I could talk my way out of this one!

"Whitey Bay, watch his Doppleman, I'm going in!" A vicious grin adorned her face as she swiped her blade at me in a myriad of forms.

"Tch, don't get too cocky!" I began to hurl javelins of shadow from the front, and spawned copious amounts of Moria's signature technique, 'Brick Bats' behind me, ready to swarm her and act as a defensive net.

She got ever closer, skillfully dodging my barrage of attacks, or cutting through the ones she couldn't dodge.

I don't think I can dodge this attack. My body is damaged to high hell, and I have to constantly maintain and direct the shadow wings for flight. I only learned this technique a week or two ago, and I'm fighting two heavily experienced fighters. Geppo is some bullshit!

"You hear that Elmy, he called me cute!" Whitey Bay was playfully suppressing my Doppleman, making sure I couldn't swap with him. Swiping her sword in a lackadaisical manner.

"Hiii hiii hiii hiii! Call me a sea hag why dontcha. You're going to regret that one Moria-kun. Whitey Bay may be enamored with your slick tongue, but you're just as mean towards your Big Sis as always! It's true what they say, the older generation always has to look out for the younger. Eat my fist of love!" Elmy cried out in joyous sadism.

She was just tens of meters away, and closing. Ready to deliver a devastating blow. I had spent this entire time flying backwards while shooting at her, but she just got closer and closer. I had very little experience in melee combat. All my skills related to melee were gained by absorbing a couple Marine grunt's shadows from earlier, and whatever shadows Moria had absorbed before I took over his body.

Wait a minute, 'fist of love' maybe, was I misconstruing the fight this entire time? Did Whitey Bay really want to kill me? Did Elmy stab me in the back, purposefully avoiding my major organs? She did take me by complete surprise after all, and could've easily gone for my heart, or jugular.

Maybe I should beg for forgiveness? In my past life, one of my 'skills' if you can call it such was the ability to cry on command. I'm a proud man, but I'm not as proud as a Saiyan, my life means more to me than any amount of pride.

But begging for forgiveness, that's a huge gamble! If she really wants to kill or cripple me…it's over. Even a strong hit from her could knock me into the ocean, at which point, I'd be dead anyway. It's truly a miracle Luffy and the other devil fruit users haven't died at drowning considering the whole planet is mostly water.

No, focus, what do I do if she catches up? Maybe assume the gigantic state, and absorb all the shadows from my zombie pirate crews fighting down below? Use my enlarged shadow to enact an ultimate attack? But…I spent all that time, and sacrificed a lot of blood in that life and death fight with Curiel. To give up on all those ships, and zombies at this point would be a complete waste. Damnit, this is all one big gamble!

Just as I was about to make my decision, a flying leg came out of nowhere, and kicked Elmy deep into the ocean below.

"Elmy!" Whitey Bay stopped harassing Doppleman, and turned in shock towards Elmy's attacker.

However, a moment later, a golden laser beam shot towards her. She blocked with her haki coated blade, but the resulting explosion knocked her out of the sky. Whitey Bay fell down to the ocean as well.

"What?" I was preparing for the worst, when a golden leg saved me? That could only mean…!

"Hello~ Hello~ Oh~ You're that Shichibukai, Mori, right!" The man wearing orange tinted glasses, and a yellow pinstriped suit sounded very proud of himself for determining who I am.

"I am the Shichibukai Gecko Moria, yes. And you're the Admiral Kizaru. There was no need for you to interfere in my fight, I had it completely under control." I lied towards my savior. If I didn't have an image to protect as a Shichibukai and 'badass' pirate, I would've thanked him profusely. Barsalino always was one of the cooler Admirals in my opinion.

When I get more practice controlling the powers of my devil fruit, I'm definitely going to model some of my attacks after his. I noticed that my shadows don't have the same explosive power as the pika-pika no mi. However, the shadows from my kage-kage no mi are wicked fast, and can be incredibly sharp. Unfortunately, all my opponents lately have all been on the upper tier of combatants in the One Piece World.

"Hmm?" Kizaru just kind of floated there, seemingly ignoring everything I've said thus far.

"Ah! You know my name! That's a state secret!" Kizaru pointed a finger right up in my face, the light glow charging up an attack! He had what passes for a shocked expression on his face. His mouth was slightly ajar and his eyebrows were raised in confusion.

"No wait, you've got it wrong!" I shouted out in desperation. Is this the end? All this planning, and suffering, just to go out due to an accident? I don't have armament haki, so I can't contest with him physically. Maybe I can take his shadow, and he'll disintegrate? Ah! I can swap with Doppleman right now, and run away!

"No, wait! I've got it! You only said my name was _Kizaru, _not _Barsalino,_ carry on citizen. Hoh~ Are those whale sharks? And a clown? How interesting~" With that, his finger dimmed till he wasn't emitting a radiant light anymore, and he casually floated away. He didn't even take a backward glance.

"…" I never said your name, _Barsalino _out loud! And you just ousted yourself, if you weren't easily distracted, I'd still be dead. I'm the victim here! Aiya! These misunderstandings are going to be the end of me.

* * *

At this point in time, Vice-Admiral Doberman was in his element. The haze of smoke stinging his eyes, his ears ringing from the constant sound of cannons firing. He felt like a Saint, delivered upon the fields of war. Justice was his creed, and no one was going to stand in the face of his holy mission.

"You there, are you cowering in the face of the enemy?!" Doberman's gruff voice addressed some blonde goofball wearing a black visor, and wearing a green vest with purple pants combo.

"M-me? No, no sir! I wouldn't dare desert! Nope, no way!" Blondie tried to defend himself.

Doberman always hated dandy's like this one, always trying to weasel their way out of their responsibilities. Doberman had dealt with hundreds of men like this in the past. At first, he'd let them off with a minor punishment. Twenty lashes were a small mercy to get his sailors into the right mindset that they were all instruments of Justice. But his mercy had been rejected every time.

"It's time to administer Justice." With a solemn vow, Doberman held his sword aloft.

"S-sir, I r-really don't think this is necessary, see! I'm fighting the pirates, honest!" Blondie's panicky voice shouted as he tried to run head first into the line of pirates.

*Shink* A sword pierced straight through Blondie's heart. "An admirable attempt, but far to late on your part. Carry this lesson on to your next life. Justice is always right!"

With an empty gasp, Blondie fell off Doberman's sword, and joined the thousands of corpses lining the battlefield.

"Forward men! Forward! Avenge Admiral Akainu! Avenge your comrades! To glory, for Justice!" Doberman rushed forward to join the fray again. As long as there was human sin, there would always be a need for Justice.

* * *

"Huff, Huff I'm here Pops! Take my flames of healing." Marco rushed behind Whitebeard's battered from, and completely covered Whitebeard in flame.

"Ha! Has Marco gone off the deep end?"

"Just like a pirate to turn on his nakama!"

Several Marine's berated Marco the Phoenix. Trying to gather what morale they could during this bloody conflict.

"Gura ra ra ra, foolish Marine's. This is a son's love! You're too blinded by Justice to understand that. Your folly was taking my son, now witness a father's wrath!" With one mighty swing, the naginata named Murakumogiri, one of the legendary weapons known as the Meito, sent hundreds of Marine's into the sky. Dozens were wounded by this one swing. Many more hit the ground dead, or unconscious.

"You're at the end of your rope Whitebeard! Today marks the end of an era!" Sengoku emerged in his giant budha form. His clothes tore, and he gave off a majestic radiance, inspiring the Marine's gathered around him. Wounded sailors stood up, and those at death's door crawled towards their opponents, fearless in the face of death.

'Hmph, if it wasn't for you dying Sakazuki, I could've sprung the curtain wall, and bombarded the pirates from all sides. Fortunately, I have a back up plan. A glance at Garp, and his plan B sprang forward, fist first. It's regrettable that I couldn't execute Ace early, but Garp would've been useless in this fight if he witnessed his grandson's demise. Oh well, no plan survives contact with the enemy' Fleet Admiral Sengoku internalized his decision making until now.

Marco, Garp, Whitebeard, and Sengoku began to trade blows. Whenever Marco would attempt to heal Whitebeard, he'd be punched away by Garp. Whitebeard's attempts to cause trouble for the rest of the Marine's would be canceled out by Sengoku's palm. Slowly but surely, the wounded Whitebeard was being pushed back.

As the fight raged on, a mouthful of fresh blood spread from Whitebeard's wounds.

"Pop's!"

"Kuh. Stand back Marco, it's over for me. I'm going to unleash one final attack, and I want you to escape with everyone else." Whitebeard firmed himself with resolve.

"Pop's…You hear that everyone?! Get ready to fall back! It falls to the father to carry the burdens of his children." Marco grit his teeth in agony. So many of his friends, brothers, and sisters, lost. And for what?

"I swear I'll get every one of you Marine's one day." Marco sneered; vengeance hot in his heart.

"We'll never abandon you Whitebeard, we'll fight to the end with you!" Squardo and his crew gathered behind Whitebeard.

"Heh, you always were my most willful son Squardo. Since I can't convince you otherwise, I'll gladly accept your support! Hear me, men and women who would stand with me! Those who believe in the freedom and family of the Blue's!

The light draws to a close. Darkness arises around us. We are alone and outnumbered. The lives we've lived, people we've loved, they're gone. And now, it's our time to shine. For them. This is the end of the road for us. An end to a journey, to leave our legacy.

Out of the darkness, rise once more, become the light, and fight in the night. All the loss, and pain, shine through it all, and fight. Never giving in, giving up, and just know that what we lost will be remembered one day, in history. Our legacy will live on, forever eternal.

Weak, and injured we fall, no more can we endure, but we gave our last breaths to the fight, and that's the only thing that matters.

Pirate's never die. They're just lost at sea. The sad thing about a lone wolf is you don't die around your friends and family; you die around your enemies. Stick to your family, and you'll always know your way!" At the end of his speech, Whitebeard gathered his remaining strength, and unleashed it towards Garp and Sengoku.

"Garp, we must intercept his blast! That's enough power to destroy the island!" Sengoku rushed forward mustering his strongest defense. Haki covered his fists as he prepared a shockwave to cancel out some of Whitebeard's attack.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Garp retorted. Gritting his teeth, Garp likewise covered his body in armament haki, preparing to meet the attack head on to save the island.

The majority of the energy was dissipated by Garp and Sengoku's defense, causing superficial damage to the island.

"Grown suicidal in your old age, eh Whitebeard?" Garp replied while shaking a headful of dust off his head.

"Wait Garp, something is wrong." Sengoku cautioned.

"Gura ra ra ra. Noticed have you. *cough cough* Why don't you turn around, and behold the fruits of my labor." Despite the copious amount of blood leaking from his injuries, Whitebeard managed a smug smile, and assumed an aura of victory.

* * *

"Luffy, a quarter of the island is gone, are you sure you still want to do this?" Jinbei, a blue fishman and former Shichibukai, known throughout the world as the 'warrior of the sea' asked Luffy with a serious and gruff voice.

"Mm! I'm going to save Ace!" With a nod of his head, Luffy jumped onto the island of Marineford to free Ace.

"Let's go guys!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Be careful Luffy-Chan!" Ivankov followed after him.

"Ah, is that a den den mushi? I'm going to be famous!" Buggy rubbed his hands with an avaricious glint in his eyes.

"I'm going to kill that old man Whitebeard." Crocodile followed the rest onto the island.

Meanwhile, several inmates from Impel Down were discussing just how happy they were with their new Captain:

"Wow, I can't believe Captain Buggy got all these whale sharks to save us after the gate of Justice closed!"

"I know right? Captain Buggy is the greatest!"

"He even managed to get followers like Straw Hat Luffy, Emporio Ivankov, Crocodile, and Daz Bonez to follow him!"

* * *

High in the sky, the Whitebeard pirate's symbol was burning in all its fiery glory.

"Pop's! Everyone! Let's go home!" A jubilant Fire-Fist Ace accelerated towards his nakama.

"Impossible!" Sengoku was stunned.

"…" Garp didn't know what to think.

"Gura ra ra ra, my all out attack wasn't meant to destroy the island. I came here for one thing, and one thing only. I thought you'd understand that, Sengoku." Whitebeard mocked the Marine.

"Quickly recover Ace, and pull out!" Squardo charged forward with his crew towards Garp and Sengoku to buy Ace a chance at escape.

"Go my son's! As long as you all live, you'll have made your father proud! Ace, whatever happens to me, I want you to run to, to enjoy life as a free man! Got it?" Whitebeard mentally prepared himself for his final fight, and laid down his last will.

"Tch, Old Man…thank you! Thank you for everything!" Ace had tears dripping from his eyes as he met up with Squardo's crew.

"Don't let them escape! We sacrificed too much for this farce to go on any longer! Garp! Garp?! Damnit Garp!" Sengoku was enraged by the following events. If Fire-Fist escapes, this could tarnish the image of the Marine's in the world's view. More people will perceive the Marine's as incompetents, lose faith in them and turn towards self-government, banditry and piracy.

"Heh heh heh, you broadcasted live to the whole world how Ace was some giant evil boogyman, what are you going to do when he leaves Marineford alive?" Squardo licked his blade in happiness. Getting back at the Marine's for all the lies and dirty plots of theirs was going to feel good.

"We absolutely cannot let that boy go." Sengoku muttered to himself.

"Ice Time!" A bloodstained Aokiji appeared behind Whitebeard, and began to freeze him all the way through with one hand. With his other hand, he unleashed spear upon spear inside Whitebeard's chest cavity, ensuring no escape.

"How?! I made sure I gave you a heart attack! I left you in a pool of your own blood!" Marco prepared to fly in and put an end to Aokiji.

"Ara ara, how foolish. For a man claiming not to be a fool, you casually explained the inner workings of your technique to me. I simply froze my heart, and restarted it with chest compressions. I'm sorry, but it ends here." Aokiji had frozen Whitebeard nearly completely, only his head and neck area were free for but a moment.

Using his power over the gura-gura no mi, he sent tiny shockwaves over his body to prevent the freezing effect as much as he could. If he was a younger man, he would've broken Aokiji on his knee, but sadly, his illness and the damage his body had accrued were too much. With one mighty shout, he spread out his last words for all to listen: "One Piece, is real!"

* * *

**A/N: What do you think Moria should've done, beg for forgiveness, or attempt to do an ultimate attack in his enlarged state?**

**Anyway, we'll be heading to the East Blue in about 2-4 chapters, I think. And Moria is recruiting. Have any ideas for who you'd like to see Moria recruit to his crew? He's going to be taking charge of his fate more and more, expanding his personal power, as well as his powerbase. This also won't be the last we'll see of Whitey Bay and Elmy. **

**And a thank you to Halo Reach/Bungie for Whitebeard's speech. **

**Thanks for reading. **


	15. Chapter 15

"Wait a minute…whale sharks!?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"There's no way." Glancing down to the harbor, I can clearly see a rubber man causing havoc amongst the Marine's. Alongside him, a sandman, and a terrifying New Kama are whipping up chaos.

Rubbing my eyes, I take a second look. "GOMU GOMU NO~ _BAZOOKA_!" Luffy's voice screamed out as he flattened a group of Marine's. Yep. There's no mistaking it. Luffy and company made it past the closed Gate of Justice somehow.

A moment later, a surge of water came from the bay, and swept dozens of Marine's off their feat. Summersaulting into the air, the blue fishman landed next to Luffy. He assumed the iconic 'karate' pose, with one arm forward ready for action, and his legs bent slightly at the knees.

"Jinbei! And people said the ability to communicate with fish was a useless ability." I scoffed to myself. I have no idea how the Marine's and the World Government oppress the fishman. Get a squad of those guys, and they'd be the best terrorists on the planet considering the whole world is 90% water! I'm definitely going to have to recruit some fishman to my side in the future.

"Kuh!" At this moment, the pain from my back and chest wound flared up. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, I blacked out for a second. When I woke up, I felt a strong breeze on my face.

"Not good!" I lost control of my shadow wings for a moment, and began to plummet toward the ocean! Just before I hit the water, and sealed my fate, I managed to reassert control of my shadows, and created a surfboard shaped platform to stand on. As I aimlessly drifted on the waves, I began to reevaluate my reasons for being here.

"Huff, huff. I think it's time to go home. I'm not throwing my life away for these guys." I complained to myself. It's time to bug out. I'll just make some excuse to the World Govt. that Whitebeard knocked me to far from the island. No one expects anyone less than an Admiral to contend with one of the Yonko.

"Hmm, but what if Kizaru reports me?" I worried for a moment. Shaking my head, I convinced myself he would be too busy with other things. I highly doubt Kizaru would report me, all things considered. He's much too lazy. And so, what if he does? The World Govt's going to need every Shichibukai they've got after losing so much today. I smirked to myself, satisfied with my decision.

"Indeed, what if Kizaru reports you? I'm saddened to hear that you'd leave us, just like that. Fuffuffuffuffu." A sinister laugh sounded right beside me. Looking around, I finally spotted the origin of such a creepy, spine tingling laugh. A big bright smile full of teeth greeted me.

"Long time no see Moria-chan~. Those mean pirates didn't beat you up too bad, did they?" Standing before me, the hunched over form of Doflamingo was grinning from ear to ear.

All around Doflamingo, a cavalcade of corpses were strung about. Many pirates slew their fellow crew members at the movement of Doflamingo's finger, much to their nakama's horror. Additionally, the corpse of Whitebeard's Third Division Commander Diamond Jozu wreaked havoc, slaying many ordinary pirates.

I sat there, on my surfboard shaped shadow stunned to silence. This was contrary to my plan of escape. In a moment of carelessness, I must've drifted from the bay and landed all the way here on the island of Marineford! I stealthily prepared Doppleman to make a run for it as I sized up Doflamingo.

A quick scan of his appearance, and I let out a sigh of relief. He was sporting bruises all over his body, he had a bit of torn skin on his chest, the clothes he wore were all torn up, and his glasses had a small crack in them. Apparently, Whitebeard's third in command was no slouch. Feeling confident that Doflamingo wouldn't immediately attack me, I decided to play along.

"Ki shi shi shi, likewise, longtime no see. No need to worry about me, these wounds are a trifle to deal with." I wore a mocking smile as I stood up and directed my shadow platform to hover next to him.

Looking around at the various combatants locked in mortal combat, I extended my hand, and a multitude of shadows approached me. When the shadows were in my grasp, I directed a knowing smirk towards Doflamingo. With a snip of my scissors, a dozen Marine's and pirates collapsed to the floor in a pile of dust.

"Thanks for your concern Doffy-kun~" With a grunt, I absorbed the shadows. My size increased by about a foot in each direction, and my wounds rapidly healed. With a burp, I released the shadows I had just absorbed, and reduced my size. Being in a body this massive already wasn't very fun. I wouldn't increase my size anymore than Moria's 'default' appearance if I could help it, thank you very much! Maybe if I work hard enough at exercise, I could have a chin again. Hard work in anime is a trope in anime for a reason after all.

At the sight of my healing, Doflamingo's smirk leveled out into an expressionless line. I'd go so far as to say he was displeased! This priceless reaction of his prompted me to laugh again. "Ki shi shi shi shi! My Devil Fruit is impressive, isn't it?" This kind of rapid healing was going to leave me incredibly sore in the coming days, but damn if it didn't feel good to see Doflamingo's smirk wiped clean from his face.

"Fuffuffuffuffu. How industrious! And you can even fly now! You've had your Devil Fruit for more than thirty years, and now you've finally learned this one little trick. Doctor's must hate you! Maybe you can do the world a favor, and take on Kaido again." Doflamingo mocked me. He put his hands in his pockets as he assumed an air of superiority.

This seems to be both a bait, and a provocation? It didn't matter much to me. Little did he know I wasn't the same Moria that the world was familiar with.

"You'd be surprised, Doflamingo. Flight and healing are the least I can do with my Devil Fruit. I haven't sat idle these last tens of years. I've increased my power tenfold since back then, but I'd be a fool to take on Kaido at the moment. Perhaps I'm waiting for the right opportunity to strike, or the right partner to work with…" I responded with a bluff smile, betraying not a hint of my inner thoughts.

Doflamingo wore a contemplative look upon his face at my declaration. We both know that at our current strength, neither of us is powerful enough to take on a Yonko. I don't know how serious I am with the idea of working together with Doflamingo to take down Kaido. But if there's anyone who I'd want to take as assistance, besides maybe Luffy, Doflamingo would be my number one pick. I'd just have to be prepared to kill him after we get rid of Kaido. After all, he'd assume that I would want to replace Kaido at this point, and move one step closer to becoming the King of all.

Unfortunately for me, I wouldn't dare to take the position of Yonko until my actual strength could match or surpass Kaido's. Becoming a paper tiger Yonko would be extremely unlucky. I don't have the same kind of ability that Buggy has. He became a Shichibukai in the original timeline based on a lie. I need to get stronger first before I even consider assuming the mantle of Yonko. However, if we team up to defeat Kaido…that would set my reputation for years to come, and I might get Doflamingo to owe me a favor. This was an incredibly high risk, high reward situation.

"You? Team up with me? Fuffuffuffuffu! I like you Moria-chan, but I don't think you're at the same level as I am. And even if you were…" At this point Doflamingo smirked, and stared off into the horizon.

"Ki shi shi shi, there's the pride of a Monarch I see. We both want to be Pirate King after all. It's only ordinary for us to come to blows. Just think about it. I currently have no design to become a Yonko." At this statement, Doflamingo snorted.

"What I harbor is a deep hatred, and resentment towards that bastard Kaido." I began to explain my 'reason' for why I wanted to kill Kaido. Doflamingo gave me a skeptical look after I expressed my 'deep hatred.' Time to go for the jugular.

"I know you don't believe me, but that man utterly destroyed my crew! My nakama! My _family. _I _must _avenge them! Kaido _will _die by my hand, or my name isn't Gecko Moria!" I overly dramatized my attachment to Moria's former crew. My voice rose in cadence with each syllable, and my tempo increased with every word spoke. I had Doflamingo's attention now! I kept a neutral face as I explained my story, and kept my face from twitching into a smirk with all I had. Mentioning 'my' dead crew was the perfect excuse that kept on giving. I may not know much about Moria's past, but it seemed as though he was a very simple character in everyone else' eyes.

At this point, Doflamingo had clammed up. Seemingly lost in thought, he turned to me after about ten minutes of deliberation and looked at me with a deep piercing gaze for another five minutes. Finally, he replied in a calm, level tone: "You're crazy." And he began to walk away, focusing on the slaughter going on around us.

"I'm close, very close! To awakening…give me a couple years, and we'll utterly destroy the Beast Pirates!" I interjected. His style of negotiating had me a bit on edge.

"I like crazy!" With a chuckle, Doflamingo kept walking away from me, with his back turned. Limbs danced about as he controlled the cannon fodder pirates and Marine's with ease.

A sigh escaped my lips. He didn't say no. Now all I have to do is awaken my Devil Fruit sometime in the next few years. Easy, right?

Every time I speak with Doflamingo, I feel like a fight could break out at any moment. That he wants my life to dance to his fingers. A shiver unconsciously goes down my back. I want that kind of power. If I took his shadow, could I learn or acquire the third kind of Haki? The supposed Haki that could only be inborn, and not trained. The King's Haki!? Shaking my head at such a fantasy, I decide to focus on my immediate options.

This dialogue with Doflamingo opened up many new opportunities. I decided to lie to him about awakening my Devil Fruit. I had barely even practiced with it, and wasn't entirely sure I could awaken within a couple short years. Hopefully this raised his threat assessment of me. It's my belief that one of the most important things when it comes to exerting power over others is projecting an image. If people believe that you're competent, or have talent, then you've already won half the battle. Religious organizations and the political parties of my past world had taught me that.

Many people believe that a political party is a monolith that can only be bested by another monolithic political party. These people often disagree with some of the policies the party they've chosen to align with make. But the people believe that they have no other options. Making them slaves to a system. A similar concept applies to this world's citizens, and the World Government. I'd be a fool not to capitalize on the power of belief.

My own base on Thriller Bark island believes me unbeatable. The people of the world believe me powerful based on my title of Shichibukai. But the movers and shakers of the world treat Moria as a joke. In an alternate timeline, he's bested by Jinbei in a couple of punches, and Doflamingo easily dispatched him. He's hardly a threat, and considered by many as the weakest Shichibukai. And I can't blame them, Moria relied solely on his zombies.

The Gecko Moria of the past was utter trash. I'm not much better, considering I was just thrown into this situation less than a month ago, but it's pathetic that I've been isekai'd into Moria for less than a month, and am already a more impressive fighter. I defeated a Whitebeard Division Commander, and survived two New World Captains despite my heavy injury's. I talked my way out of certain defeat twice, captured several pirate ship's including a massive Marine warship, and _didn't _die to Whitebeard despite killing his son right in front of him. Call it fate, luck, or skill, but I think I'm beginning to adapt to this new world I've found myself in.

I didn't want to stay here at Marineford, but my interaction with Doflamingo had reminded me of my goals coming here. After I survive this battle, things are going to be different. Look out East Blue, a new Monarch of the seas is approaching. It'll soon be time to remind the world that Gecko Moria is a threat.

As I was deeply contemplating the last conversation I had right now, and my goals for the future, a shockwave startled me out of my thoughts. A masculine voice tore through the harbor, silencing every single combatant. "One Piece, is real!"

After quickly recovering from my shock I glanced about for the source of the voice. There at the epicenter was a perfect ice sculpture of Whitebeard, surrounded by a ring of Marine's, and being held onto by a battered Aokiji. Without Blackbeard here to stir up trouble, it looks like the job of killing Whitebeard had fallen to the Marine's.

At the site of Whitebeard's corpse, I felt a strong relief. That's one less opponent to worry about, and this should hopefully mark the end of the battle at Marineford. Shanks should be coming to make the peace soon, right? Now would probably be a good time to show the Marines, and more importantly, the World Govt. that I'm alive.

When I was about to swoop over, and make myself known, a mad cackle nearby signaled that something amiss was about to go down. Gazing about, I saw Doflamingo clutching his sides like this was the best comedy he'd ever witnessed in his entire life.

As I edged away from the madman, I saw something that had me drop into a sweat.

"The madman, the absolute madman. He really did it!" Flying over Marineford was Doflamingo's servant Buffalo! My jaw opened in disbelief. Clad in his yellow jacket Buffalo released hundreds of bright, yellow rubber ducks. Moments later, they began to stream off his back. Each and every one of them drifted to the ground as if in slow motion.

A curious pirate went to grab one, and as it made contact with him it made an explosion similar to that of a grenade. "Quack!" Each explosion was followed by a loud piercing 'quack.' Almost a thousand explosions went off in but a moment. "Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" I erected a barrier all around me, and at least three explosions struck my barrier, and shuffled me about a bit.

"They laugh at me, because I'm _different_. I laugh at them because _they're_ all the same! Can you see me _now_ father! How about _you_ brother! Smile! Everyone's watching! Fuffuffuffuffu! _Fuffuffuffuffu_!" Doflamingo acted as if he had absolutely lost it. At the end of his laugh, a large crooked smile made its way onto his face.

This is the man I've chosen to ally with against Kaido!?...He did say he likes crazy. Damnit!

As I dropped the barrier, the state of the island was nothing but utter chaos. Thousands of Marine's and pirate's had succumbed to the attack. Horrifyingly, most of them were in a state of shock from hearing loss, or missing limbs. Quite a few of them had stopped fighting all together in madness.

"Quack! Quack! Make it stop!" A pirate threw up onto the ground, and pounded his head to stop the quacking.

"All I hear are the ducks!" A Marine grasped his head in great mental pain.

"Mommy!" Another Marine curled up into a ball, assuming the fetal position.

I've done some pretty terrible, heinous thing's since I've come to the world of One Piece, but that. That's just sick. I would never see the innocent bathtub toy meant for children the same way ever again.

* * *

**AN: Probably an Interlude next chapter. In case you missed it, Helmeppo caught a disease known as "Justice." Unfortunately for him, there is no cure. Will maybe do some kingdom building in the East Blue for the next "arc." Theories on how to attain more power are appreciated (political, economic, or combat related).**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing.**


	16. Interlude 1

"Here's your morning coffee, Absalom-sama. And might I add, your whiskers are particularly shiny this fine day." With his head bent down, Blue presented a tray with a pitcher of unsweetened coffee, and a couple pieces of unbuttered toast.

"Hah~ five AM in the morning already, huh Blue?" Rubbing his eyes, Absalom gripped the pitcher of coffee, and lapped up the coffee with his tongue.

"Man, why'd I ever agree to let Hogback stitch this lion mouth on, I'll never know. After the battle with Kaido, my face sure was a mess, but that's no excuse to get a lion mouth. I must've been drunk. It was the grief! Moria-sama insisted! I'm the victim here!" Absalom muttered to himself, trying to justify his life choices.

"Status report Blue, have the zombie work force cleared the western island of tree's yet? Moria-sama instructed that it be done before he gets back from Marineford, I want those zombies working around the clock."

"Yes Absalom-sama, the work goes well, all the tree's are chopped down, and the wood stored. All that's left is the task of digging up all the roots."

"Very good, Blue, I heard Moria-sama muttering about making a factory, or maybe a gun range for the zombies. In any case, Captain has some big plans for Thriller Bark. Continue with the report, what progress has been made on turning the cold storage area into a dungeon? I remember we already had a few dozen cells in the area, but the Captain wants that area expanded."

"Ehh, that is…" Blue danced around like he didn't want to be the one to give an answer.

"Out with it Blue!"

"You should really ask Red about this…okay fine, it's not going to well. Our zombie who's an expert in architecture said that we're going to have to build extra supports for the whole structure if we want to expand the dungeons." Closing his eyes in trepidation, a quiet smack knocked him onto the ground.

"You disappoint me. But more importantly, you disappoint Moria-sama, get it done Blue, I don't want to hear any excuses." Absalom narrowed his eyes, and sneered at Blue.

"Of, of course! With such an intimidating face, how could I not follow your commands oh terrible one!" Blue bowed to Absalom.

"Hm, see to it then. I'm going to give a call with our Den Den Mushi later this afternoon, make sure I'm not interrupted! It's with a very important client from Elbaf. Moria-sama might actually end your existence if this trade doesn't go through. So don't. Mess. This. Up. Okay? Good!" With a smile, Absalom continued on his walk now that business was concluded.

'Few, I have to get Red and Yellow's help on this! I wonder who that annoying lion mouth wants to call that's so important?' Blue thought to himself as he followed behind Absalom's back.

After berating Blue, Absalom thought back to Blue's excuses. He absentmindedly scratched his nose in thought. "I don't even get the sense smell a lion has. What can I do? Bite someone? Is all this lions' face worth is as a tool to scare people?" Carrying the coffee in hand, he nibbled at his toast while walking the corridors of Thriller Bark Castle for his morning routine.

"I think that the jaws of the lion are quite suitable for you Moria-sama! You'll always snatch victory away from the jaws of defeat! Why, Yellow was telling me a joke the other day about the cowardly lio-…haha, well it wasn't a very funny joke. Did I mention how handsome you are today Absalom-sama? Why, if we came across a maiden, she'd give her heart to you in an instant!" Blue laughed off his stumble, and switched topic like nothing had happened.

"A funny joke huh? Let's hear it then." Absalom swapped his attention away from his coffee and gave a Blue a piercing look.

"Ah hah hah, here's today's newspaper. It came in extra early since the Marine's are going to execute Firefist Ace tomorrow. Moria-sama is sure to put the fear of Kame into those Whitebeard Pirates! In fact, here's the chapel! We can pray for Moria's victory inside! Let's go Absalom-sama!" In a rush to avoid trouble, Blue ran ahead of Absalom into Thrillerbark's only chapel.

"Heh. That guy, always kissing ass. If only he could be more like Red." Walking into the chapel, Absalom adopted a solemn face, and approached a wall in the back. On the wall, there were row upon row of names. With another sigh, he lit a stick of incense, and began to pray on his knees for his fallen comrades.

"May you rest in peace Mikael."

"You always were a right bastard Garcia, but you were the best chef in all the Blue's."

"Maria, you'll always have a special place in my heart."

"Yamanaka twins, you guys sure knew how to party. No one could out drink you, haha."

For the next hour, Absalom bowed with his eyes closed, reciting their names from memory. Attempting to honor those he once called friend. He began to speak to them like they were there.

"Those days of looting, pillaging and spending big. We had fun together guys." Absalom broke out into a wide grin.

"For the longest time, Captain has been…unwell. But thing's are changing. He's got the spark again, and our Thriller Bark Pirate's are going to be reborn. I didn't think we'd move out of the Florian Triangle to be honest. I've grown accustomed to lazing about, and killing the weak pirates coming from the Blue's. I've grown old, haha." He laughed at his current sorry state.

"I wish Captain would give this life of piracy up, but I've followed him this long. I-I can follow him until we've defeated Kaido…then I'll rest easy knowing we've avenged you. Maybe I'll finally open that newspaper agency like I always wanted too. I could support Captain in other ways than just being an invisible killer. Haha, and Captain can use his zombies for information gathering." Absalom smiled softly.

"You'll think I'm crazy, taking on Kaido. He's even more powerful than when we fought him together. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure. And if we fail…well, save a spot for me. I'll see you all when it's my time."

"You really cared about them, didn't you?" Standing behind Absalom Charlotte Lola traced a finger across the name on the wall.

"L-Lola! When did you get here?! Blue, why didn't you do anything! You know that unless Moria-sama summons me, I'm to have no interruptions during my prayer!" Absalom's shock quickly turned to anger as his daily ritual was interrupted by an outsider.

"About that Absalom-sama, eh heh heh heh, she was, uhh, in here the entire time. Not that you didn't notice of course! Why, you're the most observant pirate to sail the-"

"Put a sock in it Blue, I don't want excuses. And you! What are you doing here Lola?! Come to spy on me!? Hm? What don't you understand that no means no!" Absalom crossed his arms in finality.

"But didn't you say just a few weeks ago that you'd marry the first girl you saw? That literally anything living would do since you hadn't been with a woman in more than a decade?" Blue questioned Absalom on his past statements.

"This and that are two different things! Besides! That goddess with the orange hair…Nami. Yes, her name was Nami! Now _she _was the woman of my dreams! And the first woman I'd seen! I don't have to explain myself to you!" Cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Absalom briefly lost himself to lust while thinking about Nami, and hugged himself tightly.

"Big melons, ha hah hah. Ahem!" A moment later, he turned his back to Blue, and redirected his attention to Lola.

With a giggle, Lola covered her mouth at the antics going on between Absalom and the little blue zombie.

"W-What?! It's only natural for a man to be attracted to a woman like that!" Caught in the act of his perversion, Absalom loudly shouted in his defense.

"There's plenty of big melons here if that's what you're after. Lola pushed herself forward, so Absalom could get a better look."

"Hahaha." Blue chuckled to the side.

A quick glare from Absalom saw Blue shut up with a squeak.

"Why are you here Lola." Absalom regained his solemnity from earlier, and glared at Lola.

Recognizing the shift in atmosphere, Lola dropped the act, and wore a sad smile.

"Is it really so strange that I came here to mourn my lost crew? You of all people should understand that." Staring deep into his eyes, Lola tried to convey as much emotion as she could.

After a minute had passed, Absalom finally replied. "Fine. Just don't make a mess while you're here. Come Blue. We're going." With a flourish of his tassels, Absalom left the chapel in a hurry, Blue in tow.

*Sigh* "What a sad man, I hope we can both find peace together someday." With a forlorn look, Lola sat down on one of the pews in the chapel, and reminisced about the good times.

* * *

Hogback awoke covered in a cold sweat. Ever since Moria had changed Cindry-chan to become his, perfect wife, he'd slept with her every free moment he had. During lunch, in the graveyard, during work, even in the shower. There was no taboo Hogback wouldn't break to be with his beloved. She was perfect.

"Maybe to perfect." With a glance at Cindry's serene face, he couldn't help but feel something was amiss. Where were the broken dishes? When could he eat food off the table again? Would Cindry ever kick him again with so much passion?

"Cindry-chan, do you think that you could go back to being a bit more…angry with me? It's no fun if you're always obeying me…" Hogback pushed his index fingers together in both embarrassment and anxiety.

"I couldn't possibly be angry with you Hogback-sama. You're the perfect master anyone could ask for!" With a cheery smile, Cindry went in to embrace Hogback with a deep hug.

"That's…Cindry, I order you to kick me!" Hogback commanded Cindry in order to get a reaction.

"Hee hee, you're so funny today my love. I would never hit my husband! Come, we haven't made love in Moria-sama's study yet!" Cindry grabbed Hogback's hand to drag him off.

"Well, I guess that's right, we haven't done it there yet, have we?" Rubbing his chin, Hogback reluctantly let himself get dragged off by Cindry.

"That's the spirit! Let's try to break the record!" Cindry beamed at Hogback.

"Fos Fos Fos Fos! You really know how to cheer me up Cindry-chan!" Hogback had a big grin on his face.

* * *

"Stupid, stupid Moria! Baka!" Perona was kicking the stuffing out of her toy animals, and any zombies that were too slow to dodge.

"You know, it's okay to care for Moria-sama. He is going to have that battle at Marineford today. Why didn't you just tell him that he's like a father to you." Perona's ever faithful and ever present servant Kumashi, the zombie bear, attempted to ease the tension in the room.

"Hmph! That's not it!" With her arms crossed, Perona began to pout.

"It's that stupid training regime of his! Perona how many ghosts can you make at once. Perona, what's the distance your ghosts can travel from your body? Perona, what's the radius of your explosions. Perona, can you fight while you control your ghosts. Every single day, it's Perona this, Perona that! I'm sick of all this training! And the worst part is, that I can't punish that little twerp Red, who's acting as my trainer, because it's that big goof's orders! Gah!" Perona tore at her hair in a brief fit of madness.

"You're a growing girl, and from what I can tell, Moria-sama plans to take the Thriller Bark Pirate's into the Blue's again. He's probably just concerned about your safety." Kumashi reasoned.

"You! Haven't I told you not to talk too much? Get over here!" Perona gave Kumashi the stink eye, and went to chase after him.

"Yeet! It's for your own good Perona!" Kumashi ran away with everything he had.

"You're going to eat those words Kumashi!" Perona paused for a moment, and dozens of ghosts went out to chase Kumashi. Perona leisurely walked after the fleeing Kumashi.

"You can run, but you can't hide Kumashi! Horo horo horo horo!" Several of her explosive ghosts made maneuvers next to Kumashi, and exploded just far away to get his fur singed.

"Yi!" Kumashi yelped in fright!

"Today's going to be a beautiful day!" Perona gleefully chased after Kumashi with a big grin on her face.

'Heh heh, works every time.' Kumashi internally smirked to himself as he took an explosion to the face.

*sip* "Looks like Perona's training is finally bearing fruits. Shall we continue our match, Yellow?" Taking a sip of tea, Red regarded the chess board in between him and Yellow.

"Mn! I hope Moria-sama does well tomorrow, otherwise, what would happen to us zombies?" Yellow worried.

"Me to buddy. Me too. Hey, loser has to clean up after Hogback." Red smiled.

"You're on!" With a smile of his own, Yellow focused back on the game, and let his worries for tomorrow disappear.

* * *

**AN: My attempt at side character development. Sorry if it's too much feelings, not everything can be plots and murder, lol. More Moria next chapter. FYI when I say "Thriller Bark Castle" I'm referring to that big ass mast in the middle of the island. Also, does anyone have the links to One Piece Stampede? I'm asking for a friend. :^)**


	17. Chapter 17

"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" As the thunderous explosions caused by the falling rubber ducks spread havoc across the battlefield, one man stood unperturbed.

The flashes, screams, and violence were all ignored by him, even several direct hits failed to break him from his stupor.

"Whitebeard, how could you leave us like this? We wanted you to become King of the Pirates…" A voice leaden with melancholy whispered into the void.

"Die pirate!" A Marine charged at the man with his saber drawn. In response, the depressed man didn't even raise his head, with the flick of a finger, a fire white hot collided with the Marine. Turning him into ash, not even his bones remained.

"Pop's. No, Dad! Why would you leave us like this! Why would you leave me?!" The man hunched over, almost like he'd barf at the thought of today's loss.

As another swarm of Marine's closed in on his position, he yelled to the sky. In response to his rage, a fiery inferno spread from his body, encompassing all within a hundred yard radius. The only evidence that those hundreds of Marine's existed were their shadows etched onto the ground.

With a bitter laugh, the man ran his fingers through his hair. He had come to a realization. "This is all the Marine's fault. Them and that bastard Teach. They're all guilty of harming my family. I'll kill them! Every single last one of them!" Standing tall, an inferno swirled in his eyes, and his fists burned with an intense white hot glow. The surrounding Marine's gulped in fear at the sight of him.

"K-k-kill F-Fire Fist Ace!" A Marine Officer commanded. Fear caused his tongue to stumble over his command, and he felt an indescribable pressure pushing down on his spine when he looked at Ace.

At his command, not a soul charged forward. "I-I said charge! Attack! Mutineers will be shot!" The Officer shouted. Still, no men charged forward to meet the threat. He finally looked left and right, only to see Marine's collapsed as far as the eye could see.

"Conqueror's Ha-" was as far as the Officer got before he too joined the unconscious enlisted men on the ground.

An indistinguishable black-red lightning flickered about Ace's body. With every breath of his, the air would crackle, as if a great power was ready to be released from a crumbling dam. Every gaze, whether pirate or Marine was drawn to this bizarre sight.

"It can't be." Fleet Admiral Sengoku's mouth formed a grim line when he looked upon Ace. An image of Gol D. Roger in his younger years superimposed itself over Ace.

"What a fearsome aura." Marco picked himself up from the gravel. His body had been battered by both Garp and Sengoku, and began to stitch itself closed. Ace's show of Conqueror's Haki granted him all the time he needed to heal.

Similar exclamations of surprise and shock spread amongst the New World Captains, and Marine Officers.

"Woah, what's this pressure?" an Impel Down escapee fell to his knees, barely maintaining his consciousness.

Standing solemnly to the former inmate's side, the fishman, Jinbei weathered the storm of pressure. Flashes of Gol D. Rogers past exploits and courage ran through his mind. "That's Conqueror's Haki. Seeing him now, it's like the return of the king."

"Return of the king…" Buggy rubbed his chin, a contemplative look in his eye as his confiscated Marine Den Den Mushi broadcasted the event to the world.

Breathing heavily, Ace struggled to maintain a clear head. Each breath came out ragged, both from rage, and the immense power of authority circulating around and throughout his body. The image of Whitebeard's final moments kept replaying in his mind on rewind. It was a torture he could no longer bare. Someone had to take responsibility! Approaching him was a barrel-chested Marine, one of the faceless many that had taunted and cheered the death of his father. He would be the first to pay the price of vengeance.

With an incoherent scream, Ace flew toward the Marine, faster than he'd ever moved before. His current speed, power and ferocity were several tiers higher compared to when he fought Blackbeard.

A white-hot fist, covered in the black lighting of Haki collided with a large fist. Blocking his strike! A black fury overcame Ace at being denied his due. A hundred lightning fast strikes flew toward the Marine, but all were dodged or blocked.

Growling at his failure, Ace continued with his assault. It sounded as if someone was trying to call out to him, but he ignored it. This was his fight, his redemption before Pops!

His style had always been one of overwhelming fire power, he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. There wasn't a single problem he couldn't solve with his fists! Although his loss against Teach wasn't without its lessons. With a burst of agility, Ace moved to collide, fist to fist. At the last moment, Ace turned his body into elemental fire, and aimed a fiery explosion at his opponent's eyes. With an eruption of speed, his formless body reformed behind the Marine. Using both hands, Ace fired wave after wave of flames pointblank into the back of his opponent.

"AAAAAAACCCCEEEEE!" A ear drum shattering yell finally broke Ace from his berserker like fugue. Accompanying the scream was a familiar feeling. A burst of power, one which most normal people could only whisper about in legends once again graced the battlefield. This feeling…it was without a doubt, Conqueror's Haki, the Haki of King's!

Looking about, Ace spotted Luffy, an austere aura emanating from his body. Black lightning hadn't appeared, showing he had yet to physically manifest the Haki, like Ace had.

'Why is Luffy here!? Moreover, why is he showing Conqueror's Haki now? His life isn't in peril is it?' Stunned, Ace looked around, finding similar looks of shock on both Marine and pirate faces. Interesting enough, very few of the faces were turned Luffy's way. They were looking in Ace's direction with a mixture of fear, and admiration. Now that clarity had returned, and reason was beginning to reassert itself in Ace's mind. Just what was going on to cause such a reaction from Luffy, the pirates and the Marine's?

* * *

Moments after the exploding rubber duck fiasco, an invisible storm of mental energy washed over me. The wave even caused the sky to darken, and minute cracks to appear in the air. Causing my knees to tremble. The shadows, containing the will of at least a dozen pirates within me wailed in fear. If I hadn't had their collective will backing me up, I think I would be one of the countless hundreds on the ground, with foam frothing at the mouth. This is…the Conqueror's Haki?!

A glance in Doflamingo's direction, and I can physically feel the killing intent radiating from his body. Bloodlust and animosity are the closest words I can use to describe the feeling I'm getting from him. I can't tell if he's angry, or hungrily sizing Ace up for a deathmatch between 'King's.'

During my daze, a new challenger approached me. Oh no, please don't let it be..._him_! Cold sweat drooped down my back at _his_ appearance. This was an enemy I absolutely did not want to engage with. Just thinking about _him_ made my spine tingle. _He _had a large purple afro, a pimp crown, lipstick, eyeliner, _he_ wore a pearl necklace, fishnet leggings, a fishnet cape, and to top it all of, he had a completely exposed chest while wearing some sort of reverse unitard.

"Oh God! Why do all these creeps have such weird pasts with Moria!" I mentally prepared myself for what was to come next.

"Oh Moria-kun, it's been so long! Why don't I change you into a woman, you'd be so beautiful! Buru~" Impel Down escapee, and infamous Revolutionary Army Emporio Ivankov made _his _entrance. Posing like some fortnight meme dancer.

"Nope!" I grimaced, and prepared myself to get the hell out of here.

This one opponent was so terrifying, I immediately sent out Doppleman, and switched places with my shadow. I teleported closer to the chaos going on in the center. The fighting may be thicker over here, but there's no way I was going to fight that thing in my current state. People say running is the mark of a coward, I say it's a valid strat to run and fight another day. Only the bravest idiot could safely say that they hold no fear fighting that opponent.

Calming my heart, I prepared to fight someone like Jinbei, a New World Captain, or maybe one of the Whitebeard Pirate's surviving Commanders. Because of course, why wouldn't the universe throw another curveball at me? Little did I suspect, the world did throw me a curveball, just not how I expected.

"Mori! Get out of the way! I'm here to rescue Ace, I don't care if you're a Shichibukai, or my Grandpa! No one will stop me! Ace! **Gear Third**!" With an exclamation, Monkey D. Luffy charged at me. During his run, his fist enlarged to the size of a double decker bus.

I sighed, and smiled in relief. Fighting Luffy now shouldn't be outside of my capabilities. I may be wounded, and can't perform my technique where I meld with the shadows of others, but this _is _the Haki less Luffy pre-time skip. As long as I don't underestimate him, and just focus on stalling him, I should be okay. Another person in my shoes might kill Luffy, but as a fan of One Piece, I couldn't bring myself to kill the guy. Not only from a personal standpoint, but from a strategic standpoint, it'd be sheer idiocy to kill him now. He introduces so much chaos onto the world, the coming years will be like another golden age for pirates. Not to mention, he could make a useful ally/pawn in the future.

As his fist came ever closer, I decided to take a page out of the original Moria's repertoire. I swapped with Doppleman right as his fist was about to collide with my body. As Doppleman broke apart under the impact, I transformed the shadow into needles. They stabbed into Luffy's arm, and deflated it back to normal.

"Ki shi shi shi, I truly admire your resolve Straw Hat. But you'll find many opponents stronger than myself in the New World! You need at least a decade more of training before you can match up against the likes of us, the New World Captains!" With a demonic grin, I goaded Luffy to be more reckless, and at the same time hoped my words would inspire him to train harder.

"**Gear Second!**" Steam poured out of his mouth and back as he powered up. Wasting no words on me, Luffy's body began to glow bright pinks, and a slight sheen of sweat coated him like a second skin.

"**Gomu-Gomu no Bazooka!**" Sling-shotting himself with the intent to pass me by, Luffy was a blur to most normal Marine's and pirates. To my eye, and more importantly, my newly emerging sixth sense, his movement was no faster to me than an Olympic runner in my past life. Olympic runners were fast, no doubt, but still easily trackable with your eyes. Luffy was similarly trackable to me.

With a gesture of mine, I manifested a solid block of shadows, with an additional gesture spikes pointed outward. In an attempt to intercept him on his flight to pass me by, I also sent numerous javelins and sabers his way from my position. The shadows I could generate weren't particularly tough, especially the further I generated them from my body. As with one round of gomu gomu no gatling, Luffy rapid fire punched his way through the block. However, heh heh, my shadows were incredibly fast, and sharp. Luffy's hands bled from dozens of cuts, and he had a jagged cut on his arm. He dodged most of the sabers and javelins sent towards his back, but a couple found their mark.

Rushing towards Ace's fight, Luffy never lost his determination, and ignored the damage I had done to him. That's one thing I'll always admire about the guy, the will to never give up. Looking at Ace's fight, it's probably for the best Luffy fights someone like me who doesn't have the intention to kill him. As I was preparing to launch another attack at the guy, my sixth sense was blaring at me to dodge!

A quick swap with Doppleman, and my heart was beating out of control. That was close! Who could've given me such a strong sense of danger?! I felt a strong icy gaze being directed in my direction. To call this look glacial would be an understatement.

Standing where I had been a moment ago, a long jade like leg was held aloft. What's this, leg's flying out of nowhere sure are common occurrence's in this world! First Kizaru, and now the owner of this leg! That Chinese style dress, long black hair, and snake earrings. Without a doubt, this is the snake princess, Boa Hancock.

"Moria! One such as you has no right to lay a finger on my man!" Hancock arched her back, and looked down upon me so much, she looked at the sky. Fury at me clear in her face, she clenched her teeth. To the side, her pet snake snickered at me from the side.

That was close! One hit from her, and a piece of me would've been turned to stone! I wonder, if I broke off a part of me turned to stone, could I heal that part by absorbing the shadows of others? This brings me back to the thought that I could maybe heal missing limbs?

Lost in thought, I completely ignored Hancock's statements, and her further monologue. I knew that with the threat to Luffy gone, she would most likely stop attacking me.

"He, he's the one who will be my future h-husband! We'll be the perfect couple, and have many beautiful babies!" Boa Hancock, Pirate Empress, feared mass murderer, and Shichibukai embraced herself and blushed like a school girl who just discovered love.

After some time had passed, I decided to actively pay attention to my surroundings again. "Hm? Is she still talking to herself?" I rubbed my chin inspecting her up close. She's not bad looking, but she's kind of insane and viciously hates all men. I don't see her appeal. It's crazy to think that hundreds of normal people in this world would gladly throw their lives away just to be acknowledged by her. Hell, they'd be satisfied with licking her boots! Thirsty men and women sure can do some crazy things once they get their blood pumping!

"In short, her looks are all she's got going for herself. And she's not all that attractive." Concluding my observation, I looked to see if I could make my way to the sidelines once again.

"You take that back!" A Marine enlisted man rushed at me with his saber.

"Yeah! Hancock-sama is most beautiful woman in all the Blue's!" A pirate charged me with her mace.

At my muttered statement, pandemonium broke out around me. A gang of at least a dozen Marine's and pirates had joined forces, and ran at me with a zeal that had me shook. Who knew the love of one person would move bitter enemies like them to band together in the middle of a war?!

I wasn't concerned by their combat potential, and sent a multitude of beasts formed from shadow their way. As my hoard of shadow beasts engaged the enemy, they tore throats, crushed limbs, and swarmed all over. But still, these men and women, kept coming at me, despite their injuries.

"Is this the power of love?" This is another thing I'll have to make sure not to underestimate while I'm in this world. Emotions can be a powerful stimulant, making even the weakest person a warrior. All it takes is for one person to gain courage from a hopeless situation to turn things around. The toys revolting in Dressrosa is a perfect example of what could happen to me if I don't keep up my vigilance even against weaker opponents.

"Sadly for you guys, you're still just average when it comes to new world standards." With a smirk, I crossed my arms, and watched as all but one of them died from my beasts. As the final enemy who was beaten and bloody got close enough to swipe at me, I summoned a javelin of shadow behind him, and pierced his heart.

"Ki shi shi shi, there's only so much the power of love can do after all." I mocked the now deceased Marine who lay at my feat.

"You'd better take that back." A small whisper barely reached my ears.

"Hmn?" Looking down, I saw Boa Hancock slowly approaching me with shadowed eyes.

"I said, you'd better take that back. Gecko Moria." Stopping just a few feet from me, Hancock glared at me with utter disdain.

"Ki shi shi, don't you have something better to do? Like taking care of your boyfriend over there?" I nodded my head in the direction of Luffy. A wide grin adorned my face as I teased her.

"Hmph, this isn't over between the two of us Moria. I know that with your devil fruit, you enslave thousands on that island of yours. I've heard you've left the Florian Triangle, with nowhere to hide, there'll be a reckoning between us someday soon." Finished with her piece, Hancock turned around, and went to support Luffy.

"Ki shi shi shi!...Oh? Looks like Luffy may really need her help, because this is?! Damnit, I'm tired of saying it, but this is, the Conqueror's Haki!" I braced myself once again, as a strong wave of energy passed me by. I was proud of myself, as my knees didn't even shake this time. Admittedly this wave of force was much weaker than the one Ace released.

"AAAAAAACCCCEEEEE!" Luffy's unmistakable voice called out in anger, disbelief, and is that betrayal I hear?

The fighting got quiet all of the sudden again. Is it because of Luffy, or…no? Most of the people are ignoring Luffy, and looking at Ace, what happened here? Jumping into the sky, I once again formed a surfboard like shadow, and surfed the skies to take a better look.

"Huh, no wonder Luffy unlocked his Conqueror's Haki."

Down below, in a pile of rubble was a badly burned Vice-Admiral Garp. I could see the gentle raising and lowering of his chest, indicating he was still alive, but he clearly wasn't getting up anytime soon. I assume he allowed himself to be defeated. Much like how he couldn't bring himself to fight Luffy, it looks like he went easy on Ace as well. To the other spectators however, they probably assume Ace defeated Garp, the Hero of the Marine's.

"Ki shi shi, how ironic!" Garp is the man who single handily fought evenly with Gol D. Roger. He's a living legend, and was 'defeated' by Gol D. Rogers biological son. I couldn't wait to see what kind of waves this would stir up with the World Government.

* * *

Across Marineford, across the entire world, shock was the name of the game. So many heavy hitters had died today, and now, the legend who defeated Gol D. Roger was knocked unconscious by Portgas D. Ace!

Until that silence was broken by one opportunistic clown. "All hail Portgas D. Ace, the Pirate King! Fire Fist! FIRE FIST! FIRE FIST!" Buggy chanted, pumping his fist up and down, putting extra emphasis on _fist _when he punched out. Soon after, the inmates who followed him from Impel Down began to chant along.

With the cacophony of calls, many more pirates began to chant a mixture of fire fist, and pirate king.

The faces of the high-ranking Marines were black and shadowed out! They had failed to execute Fire Fist Ace, Admiral Akainu died, and Vice Admiral Garp was grievously injured laying in a pile of rubble. Looking to Sengoku, they all sought an answer. What do we do? Just as some of the more Absolute Justice oriented Marine's were going to make the decision for him, Portgas D. Ace exploded into the air, silencing the crowd.

"Whitebeard Pirate's, withdraw! This war is over Sengoku! Allow us to withdraw peacefully, or I'll make sure you lose ten Marine's for every pirate life!" Ace hovered in midair with the a presence not to dissimilar from Whitebeard's. His Conqueror's Haki spread with every word he said. Like a buff from a rpg, his mere presence perked up the morale and fighting power of his side, while lowering and weakening the fighting spirit of the Marine's.

Vice Admiral Doberman wanted nothing more than to rush headfirst into danger, and slice that brat Fire Fist in half, but he was a Marine. And a Marine always obeyed the chain of command, which was why in this instance he, along with every other Marine who believed in Absolute Justice waited on Sengoku's decision with baited breath.

With a solemn look, Sengoku took stock of the situation. His trained eyes of more than a thousand battlefields spotted his strengths and weaknesses in but an instant. His Marine's still outnumbered the pirate forces. Tens of thousands of Marines still stood ready to fight, but suffered from a critical loss of morale. His Vice Admirals were all alive, but the same could be said for all of the New World Captains, bar some of Whitebeard's officers. Akainu was dead, not to mention two of his strongest fighters, Garp, and Aokiji might as well be out of commission.

The Shichibukai couldn't be trusted, they might even turn on the Marines if the battle is in a deadlock. Meanwhile, the pirates had less than one thousand fighters capable of fighting, but their morale was high. He was positive he and Kizaru could kill Fire Fist, and Marco the Phoenix, but it's likely most enlisted man, and many Officers below Vice Admiral would die along with the likely destruction of the island. Thousands had perished because of the clash between Akainu and Whitebeard already. More than half of the Marines were wounded or dead, whereas only one fifth of the original pirate force was still standing. The worst part of it all was, would it be worth it to sacrifice all that he had built up for the last two decades to eliminate the spawn of Roger? Today was a tragedy for the Marines.

In less than a minute, Sengoku had come to his decision.

* * *

**AN: What should Sengoku do, fight them as they retreat, or let them retreat peacefully?**

**I know Garp never actually defeated Gol D. Roger, but as far as the public is aware, Garp captured and imprisoned him. **

**Ace was always one of my less favorite characters in OP. I want to make him into a badass level Yonko level threat. I wrote him pretty angsty, because that's how I see him as a character. Maybe he'll change now that his crew is mostly dead. He kinda reminds me of Anakin Skywalker from revenge of the sith. Also, watched Joker 2019. Great movie. **


	18. Chapter 18

The afternoon sun was mercilessly beating down upon my back, causing a droplet of sweat to roll down the back of my flabby neck. My body was sore, and covered in scabs, scratches and a plethora of welts. The smoke had cleared, and corpses lined the harbor. Their vacant pupils staring listlessly into oblivion. A whiff of the air had me resist the urge to gag. The stench of the sunbaked corpses was more pungent than any of the chemicals or formaldehyde I had smelt in the lab. In comparison, the zombies on Thrillerbark island were kept fresh likely by some combination of Hogback's efforts and some devil fruit powered shenanigans.

As my thoughts wandered, the wind rustled upon my hair in a slight breeze. I further observed my surroundings, and spied the ranks of Marine's stepping side to side in anxiety. Even the wounded fell silent. Waiting. What had felt like an eternity in purgatorial had in actuality been less than thirty seconds. Based on Sengoku's change in posture from one of uncertainty to one of strong resolve, it appeared he had finally come to a decision. And I had a suspicion I wasn't going to like it.

"Portgas D. Ace." This name was said with great solemnity. Silence reigned supreme for a good minute after this declaration. Just as tensions were beginning to rise again, a sound rang out. Like a bell toiling for the dead, a deep gonglike noise vibrated deep within everyone present. As someone who's soul had been transported through time and space, I could swear that I not only felt this vibration to my bones, but to my very soul. There was not a hint of Conquoror's Haki being emmited from him, but the pressure he gave off was no less than Whitebeards, even greater than Ace's!

As the gong came to an end, Sengoku in all his golden glory had enlarged to stand at a towering height. The powerful figure known throughout the world as Fleet Admiral was an intimidating _idea _to face. Fleet Admiral meant strength, and a representation of the World Government, but to me, and the countless others, he had transcended such a worldly title, such a worldly role. Before us stood a man that could only be described in two words. Heavenly Buddha.

With a face filled with implacable hostility, Sengoku did away with his usual eloquence, and moved with ruthless decisiveness.

"Your terms are null and void. The Marine's shall never suffer any man who claims the title Pirate King to live."

Sengoku _moved_. I knew that I could already move very quickly for someone my size. Much like Dr. Eggman outrunning Sonic, and Moria managing to outrun Luffy in the Thrillerbark arc. I already knew large and fat guys could move in this universe, but Sengoku was something else. With a brief flash, hundreds of pirates were instantly vaporized. I think even that shark fishman Division Captain was barely hanging onto life from the blast! Additionally, Ace and Marco were knocked back as blood spewed from their orifices.

I planted my feet into the ground, and braced myself as the shockwave from the explosion pushed me back. Mouth agape, I stared helplessly at the destruction. Carnage couldn't even be applied to the situation…there weren't any bodies left behind!

"Is this the power of a Yonko!?" I muttered to myself.

I knew that this was my second time exclaiming that today, but it had to be stated! I had been shocked and surprised by Whitebeard's power earlier. With a mere flick of the wrist, he had sent me flying into the sky, unconscious. Seeing it on a screen is one thing, experiencing it through your body is another! Here, Sengoku was replicating Whitebeard's ability for destruction.

Like the dozens of Marine's around me, my mouth was open, powerless before the might being displayed. Sengoku didn't stop with one thrust of his palm, he kept going, lighting up the sky, and leaving nothing but craters. His palm thrusts were so intense, I half expected him to shout 'ora! ora! ora!' at any moment. He alone had the entire pirate force on the backfoot, Ace and Marco could barely 2v1 him. Surviving in a fight was a difficulty for them, don't even mention containing him from collateral damage!

Looking left and right, many Marine's who had gotten over their shock began to smile and cheer. Today was a grim day, but with their commander on the field everything was going to be okay.

I had a small while thinking about Whitebeard's foolishness. Why did he think he would win? Hadn't he clashed with Sengoku in the past? Didn't he know the overwhelming firepower of the three Admirals? The Marine's forces were just too strong for any one Yonko to face. Although in reflection, I was a bit hypocritical. I had underestimated Sengoku's power, and his level for violence. The chants of pirate King had really set him off.

I should've expected Sengoku to hit at the same level as a Yonko, but I had been to reliant on the anime. Everything that I'd seen or read could be used for a guideline, but at the end of the day…that's all the anime should be! A guideline!

To the side, Doberman gave me a taunting smirk, likely at the power the Marines were currently displaying. If Buggy was here recording this, then the whole world will soon be reminded of Sengoku's might. Doberman along with many Marine's began to advance. The pirates began a hasty fighting retreat. One of the only things I had learned from medieval wars was that most casualties took place during a route. That part of history was certainly true right now. The pirates were falling one after the other.

At the same time, I ignored Doberman's no doubt rousing speech to his men. I'm sure it sounded something like 'Justice, Justice Justice! Grr! Pirate's Bad! Justice!.' The man had no class when it came to appealing to emotion, although…

"Fufufufufufu. No need to be so surprised now, is there Moria-kun? Afterall, you felt first_hand_ what a Yonko's strength is like." Hands in pockets, and devil may care smirk in place, Doflamingo approached me, breaking me out of my tangent. A welt on his right cheek from his death battle with Diamond Jozu was one of a few factors that diminished the playboy image he had going for him.

Physical observations aside, this psycho's always sneaking up on me. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was onto me being isekai'd, or suspicious of how I'm acting vs. the old Moria. But knowing his character, the most likely, and cold hard truth is. He's bored.

Adjusting his cracked glasses, and flicking some blood off his high heels, Doflamingo gave me no room to break his flow.

"So, knowing the strength of Sengoku, and Whitebeard, still think we could take on Kaido in two years time?"

"I-"

"It's been fun Moria-_chan_ but don't talk to me again until you're serious about commitment. You wouldn't want to hurt my feelings, would you?" With a fake smile and wave, Doflamingo joined in the slaughter.

Sighing in helplessness at Doflamingo's craziness, I decided to enter the fray. I was determined to halfheartedly go after the pirate riff raff, and stay far, _far _away from any of the officers. I sent swarms of brickbats, other animal shaped shadows and a few dozen waves into the fleeing pirates. At this point ignoring the gore, screams, and other bodily fluids had become a habit, I didn't revel in the deaths of these people. From my point of view, it was just business. As a Shichibukai, I'm contractually obligated to be the World Government's attack dog…or face a lifetime in solitary confinement/death.

Upon further reflection on our now pyrrhic victory, pyrrhic in that the Marines lost an Admiral and thousands, maybe tens of thousands of men, I truly didn't expect the battle of Marineford to end so anticlimactically. I thought maybe some Vice Admirals would die, or maybe with Aokiji wounded Ace might melt him into a puddle. Especially after Ace's speech about retribution and Batman levels of menace. I had expected Shanks to swoop in and save the day like he did in the anime, but canonically he was supposed to be protecting Whitebeard's territories from Kaido. I guess a fight between Yonko's isn't so simple.

"Run ahead, I'll stay behind and block him!" A cigar smoking pirate charged at me to give his comrades extra time to escape.

I didn't even bother responding to the guy as a dozen shadow hounds ran at him, a some ran past him. However, my expectations of a gory mess were shattered, as his sword caught aflame, and all of the beasts were destroyed with a few swipes of his sword.

After analyzing his movements, I determined him to be faster than the average New World Pirate, but likely worse than Zoro when it came to skill with a sword. I was no swordsman in my past life, and had never fought for my life before today. However, between a combination of muscle memory from Moria's body, and some of the shadows he had previously absorbed, I felt like I currently had a competent understanding of combat. How to swing a sword, positioning, they all felt natural. I sized up Cigar Guy preparing for a fight.

His speed may be faster than the average, but I determined my strength and speed to be above his. He would be the perfect target to practice my close quarters combat. Against some enemies, it will be impossible to be a mid to long range glass cannon, close range survivability will be key to my continued survival. Cigar Guy will make the perfect stepping stone for my further development.

By the time I had drawn my dual blades, Cigar Guy was upon me. We exchanged several rounds of furious slashing. I was faster than him, and blocked all his strikes. But his skill with the blade meant I couldn't land a hit either. We slowly began to become exhausted from our drawn out duel. This could mostly be attributed to the accumulated battles over the course of the day, our speed began to noticeably slow down.

Unfortunately for Cigar Guy, while I may be beyond morbidly obese, I had a great advantage in the stats department. The shadows of at least half a dozen Marine's and pirates shadows empowered me, Moria's natural constitution was excellent, and not to mention whatever else Moria had stuffed inside this body prior to my possession. My physical stats and recovery were utterly ridiculous when all these factors were combined. Seeing that he was losing the war of attrition, Cigar Guy decided to make a risky gambit.

He completely opened himself up to attack, in an attempt to take me out with him! He wanted to commit suicide with me to save his friends! He closed the distance, and thrust with his flaming blade. It was headed straight for my heart, in my hubris over superior speed, he had positioned me so I was blocked off by the flow of combat happening around us. There was nothing I could do to avoid it!

_Shink_

The sound of a blade stabbing deep into flesh sounded for but an instant. Blood splattered everywhere. I took a step back in dismay, a dark expression on my face. A crimson-red sticky, stinky mess had splattered all over me again!

"It's fucking raw!" I shouted in outrage.

A moment later, I gave a smirk and laughed at Cigar Guy's lifeless corpse. "Ki shi shi shi. Try to take _me _down with a suicidal attack, huh? Bastard! Good work Doppleman." My heart pounded from the adrenaline rush. Standing some ways behind me, Doppleman gave me a wave. My chest had swapped with Doppleman's right when Cigar Guy stabbed into me. He'd stabbed only shadow! Getting the timing down so he doesn't pull away is seriously difficult! If I wasn't quick enough, I really could've died there. Sure, I could've swapped my entire body with Doppleman to save my life, but that defeats the purpose of training. This lifesaving technique of swapping body parts is honestly one of the kage-kage fruits best abilities. I wonder what other hidden abilities I can conjure up? I currently have the moniker Ruler of Shadows. Hmm, thoughts for later.

Flicking my swords, I sheathed them, and decided to kill Cigar Guy's friends for getting his blood all over me. It's the simple things in life after all that are best. Ignoring my tattered and already gore drenched coat, I sent rows upon rows of shadow javelins into the pirate ranks.

Mopping up the 'trash' mobs of a Yonko was good fighting experience. These guys may be considered trash compared to top tier fighters, but they're still New World pirates, and a lot of these guys still kept fighting without arms, eyes, legs, or fighting with dozens of bullet wounds. It was actually an eye-opening experience to just how resilient the pirates of the New World are. The constitution of the people in this world is crazy, even the midranked people don't go down easy! Some of them can tank a shadow javelin and keep running, simply incredible.

If I'm lucky, I can buy, cheat or steal some of these bodies for my own zombie army. I feel like Saitama from One Punchman buying everything on sale at the supermarket. Who would've thought risking my life like this for a government that clearly hates me, could yield such great rewards! At this point, I'm thankful Shanks didn't show up to stop the war. I had dollar signs in my eyes at the potential profit before me.

As the mindless slaughter continued, my mind couldn't help but wander back to the conversation with Doflamingo. From my understanding of Doflamingo's fake flirting, and crazy manner of speech, what he said between the lines, was that neither of us is prepared to fight a Yonko. I one hundred percent agree with him. Of course, I knew I was just bullshitting him to appear strong and not appear on any World Government hitlists. I worry that my bravado may've revealed that I'm not quite as strong as I said I was. That my bravado was as easy to see through like a kid who's obviously below legal age using his older brothers I.D. for some alcohol or cigarettes.

Going back to the thought that I told him, two years of training...two years seems like too little! Doctor's go to school for eight, minimum! For the moment, two years seems like an awfully short time to power up to the level of a Yonko, or even near Yonko level power. Although, then again, Luffy and crew went from East Blue weaklings to powerhouses in just two years.

This is a can I'll have to kick down the road. Besides my ambitions, and me honoring Moria's former goals of revenge, I'll need to prepare myself for the times and tribulations to come. I have no clue what exactly the world will bring me in the next two years. From my growth, my allies, and my enemies. I know Dr. Vegapunk has a plan to replace all the Shichibukai, and that the organization was disbanded after the Levely. That's as far as I know before I became Gecko Moria.

Hmm, if I can get a seat on the council of nobles, or at least a puppet, and Doflamingo retains his seat…will my situation with the World Government and the Marines remain? Having all the benefits and protection from the government, while still having the right to loot and plunder near anyone I please is a supreme state of equilibrium, personal freedom and long-term sustainability. For such a famous idiot, Luffy is smart in his own way. The best thing about being a pirate is the freedom.

Should I try to keep Ace alive then, so that Luffy doesn't have some reason to get the Devil Fruit? Heck, will Luffy make it out of this? Eh, worst comes to worst, he might take a sub, besides, I may have to fight him in the future…Looking at Sengoku pounding away at Ace, I decided to leave the conclusion up to fates decision. No need to risk my skin over angering the Heavenly Buddha right now. Shaking my head, I decided to put these heavy thoughts aside for another day. The better I preserve a corpse; the less work Hogback will have to do. Just focus on harvesting, this battle is in the bag.

"ZEHAH HAH HAH HAH!"

* * *

**AN: I think people sleep on Sengoku. **

**In case I didn't make it obvious, there's no slash in this story. Doflamingo just likes fucking with people. If there was, it would be a gag, side character, or someone who already is canonically. *cough* Bon Clay *cough* Idk if there will be romance for the SI, if there was, it wouldn't be the focus. However, if I did, the 3 ships I think about are in no particular order, Petty Officer Girl (Isuka), Whitey Bay, and Lily Enstomach. That's right, the giants will play a role in this story, Interlude 1 has some foreshadowing. No harem btw. :^) **


	19. Chapter 19

"ZEHAHA HAHA HAHA"

That laugh…It seems that despite my plans, Blackbeard made it after all. I thought getting the Gates of Justice closed on him was a pretty good plan. At the very least I know that it must've delayed him. Whitebeard was completely shattered by Aokiji. No devil fruit for you to steal Blackbeard. I smirked. Let's see how you weasel your way out of this one.

"ZEHAHA HAHA HAHA! FOOLS! As if calling a giant block of rocks and mortar 'The Gates of Justice' will stop me! In fact, that'll only make me to destroy it even more!" Sailing in on a stolen Marine Battleship, Marshal D. Teach had made his entrance.

"Wiiiihahaha! I heard the Marine's got two more gates boss! We shuld pay'em a visit!" Sidling up next to Blackbeard was the masked lucha wrestler Jesus Burgess. A bloodthirsty grin showing so many teeth, he'd make a shark-fishman blush in shame.

"Wind speed, less than 10mph. Crosswind, none. Target within 100 yards. Fate has brought us together with Firefist once again it seems. Today is an excellent day Captain." The sniper, Van Augur stood exactly five steps back and to the right of Blackbeard. His expression seemingly apathetic towards everyone and everything around him. The sudden quick gleam off his target scouter however told a different story.

"Augur is absolutely right Captain! I can't wait to share this beautiful, beautiful day with the people of Marineford! How wonderful today is!" The mime-faced Laffitte drew his gun and spun around in pure bliss.

"Ehhh heh heh. Marines have..have..go-good booze. Ehhh heh heh heh…" With his tongue lolling about and seemingly in a stupor, Vasco Shot stumbled left and right, sloshing a gourd about and spilling copious amounts of alcohol down his neck and chest. Despite this, the black jesters cap he wore on top of his head was surprisingly clean to an extreme degree.

*puff* *puff* Shiryu of the Rain, ex Head Warden of Impel down smoked his cigar with relish. He hadn't had a good smoke in years. With one large inhale of his cigar, he rubbed his sword like one would stroke a lover. "Soon."

"Murun fu fu fu it is I-"

"Shut up and fight already!" The tusked, blue haired Avalo Pizarro roared out.

"You interrupted my introduction! No one interrupts the fairest lady in the land, Devon-sama, and gets away with it!" Voted ugliest Blackbeard crew member, Catarina Devon made threatening moves towards Avalo, preparing to skewer him on the tip of her spear.

"Hee-Haw!" Doc Q's donkey brayed.

"Teach, enough with this foolishness! Is what Moria said true? You've betrayed the Shichibukai?!" Spittle flew from Sengoku's mouth as a vein bulged on his forehead.

Based on his reaction, I'd say Sengoku already knew Blackbeard betrayed hi-

"Oi. Oi! Oi! Oi! Sengoku you whorespawn, backstabbing piece of human garbage!" My eyes widened in both shock and anger.

I was going to say more creative insults, but now wasn't the time. Bitching at my fate was never my thing in the first place. All I could do was clench my fist and grind my teeth as I suppressed my fury. The rational side of me began to take over as my rage went to the backburner. Now wasn't the time to take action.

"Haah~" Exhaling deeply, and unclenching my fists, I focused back on Blackbeard and Sengoku.

…-and there's nothing you, or anyone can do to stop me! Least of all snitches!" At the end of his address to Sengoku, he directed a glare my way. Well there goes any potential to team up with Blackbeard straight out the window.

Done speaking with Sengoku, Blackbeard addressed the remaining pirates. "I've come to save you my nakama! It was the World Noble's plot to turn Whitebeard against me! You guys fall back, I'll cover you!"

Without Whitebeard's paramecia to steal, is this Blackbeard's plan? What does he gain out of this? Recognition from the world for fighting Sengoku? Or maybe he wants to fill Whitebeard's spot as a Yonko by putting in as little work as possible. Get the Whitebeard pirates on his side by saving them? He is one lazy sonuvabitch, and it does match his style. Although after seeing what Sengoku is capable of, I'd say it's more work fighting the Marine's than Ace and Marco in the New World. Just what is Blackbeard hoping to gain from this?

At the same time that I was trying to puzzle out Blackbeard's actions, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a bedraggled Marco drag a defiant Ace off towards the ships. A second later, Sengoku lunged forward.

Sengoku's palm exploded into a bubble of energy headed straight for Ace and Marco. In response, Blackbeard surged a wave of darkness forwards, nullifying Sengoku's attack. Soon after, the wave spread to more than fifty Marine's, slowly absorbing them into Blackbeard's pool of darkness.

"What." A Marine standing next to me commented at seeing his Commander, his Heavenly Budha's attack get canceled out so casually. Not only that, but the fifty men who were sucked into Blackbeard's power had completely vanished! It seemed like his brain couldn't process what had just happened. Many of his friends had probably died today, he'd killed, and witnessed earth shattering events. Today certainly wasn't a good day to be a grunt.

Looking about, a similar expression of listlessness had spread to many others. I could spot the same vacant expression on a few the pirates faces. Although their retreating forms soon broke out back into cheers.

"Ha! Maybe it was those World Noble bastards who set Teach up! He never wanted to be a Whitebeard commander, even though we all knew he had the strength to be one!"

"No way, he's no hero, he killed Thatch, and arrested Ace! He's the reason we're fighting this battle in the first place!"

"He's Whitebeard's darkhorse, there's no way he killed Thatch, they were the best of friends!"

"I don't know if he killed Thatch or imprisoned Ace or whatever, let's get outta here!"

"Alright men, this is just what we need to get out of this forsaken hell hole! We've saved Ace, now let's book it!" One of the New World Captains shouted to his men, as they boarded their ship, and set sail, leaving Marineford.

At the sight of Blackbeard's devil fruit, the successfully fleeing pirates, and his men's loss of morale, Sengoku grimaced. He was not happy, not one bit.

"Fire all cannons at the retreating pirates! Aokiji, Kizaru, attack those who are escaping! Officers, board those ships, and chase after them with our own. We cannot allow Firefist to escape! And Garp, I know you're not unconscious, get up here, your grandson isn't a part of this battle!" Sengoku had entered tactician mode as he made to attack Blackbeard once more.

"You heard the Fleet-Admiral! I want to see the bay running red with pirate blood before sundown!" Doberman rushed past me, and led a cohort of one hundred Marine captains to board a ship in pursuit. Most of the Vice-Admirals, and high ranking officers gave chase. Only the wounded and those firing the canons stayed behind. Despite the hiccup with Blackbeard, the Marine's still held the advantage.

* * *

Standing back from the coming clash between Sengoku and Blackbeard's crew, the other four Shichibukai and I had decided not to chase after the pirates into the ocean. I can't speak for the rest as to why they didn't chase them down, maybe they didn't want to, or couldn't fight very well on the ocean. Most likely, they couldn't be bothered doing bitch work for the government.

I could respect that last choice. I would've gone just for the corpses to build up my zombie army, but I was tired, and weary to the bone. The welts were starting to make themselves known, and the forced rapid healing I had done earlier wasn't without its pain too. Not to mention the mental strain from wearing the shadows of about a dozen pirates. Frankly, I was probably recovering from several concussions at this point.

"Today sure was a rollercoaster." While reading One Piece, it was always shocking to me that Luffy and the Straw Hats did what they did, all the arcs up to Marineford…in less than a month or two. It's crazy to imagine how strong they got, and all that they did. I don't know if I could improve like they can, but already I'm seeing growth. My fights today have taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses, and where I need to improve upon. I'd gained fighting experience in close and ranged combat, and my sixth sense was slowly developing. It's just a matter of time until I get to the level of strength that I don't have to rely solely on my reputation.

"Good job." A monotone, and intensely soft voice sounded next to my ear. To my left, Kuma, bible in hand praised me.

"Nani?!" I couldn't help but exclaim in a kneejerk reaction. I was utterly perplexed why this government dog would give me, Gecko Moria praise! Especially considering our last interaction!

"What you did was very brave, not everyone could reveal such critical information to secure the safety of the world. Good job." Kuma pat me on the shoulder, and left the gathering of Shichibukai to board a Marine battleship.

"!" Bartholomew Kuma, a.k.a. Tyrant, a Pacifista who once he was turned into a mindless cyborg had the rod of Justice stuck firmly up his ass so far, he couldn't smile anymore just praised me. He patted my shoulder no less!

"Awe, I think he likes you. Although why wouldn't the governments lapdog love a _snitch _like you." Doflamingo grinned at first, but then ended his statement with a sneer.

It took me a minute to register Doflamingo's words. Did they think I was a snitch? I thought that the saying 'no honor among thieves' would be most applicable to this group. Every man for himself and all that.

"Snitch? I'm no snitch. If you knew what Blackbeard's devil fruit allows him to do…you'd be thanking me right now!" I responded; exasperation clear in my tone of voice.

"Hoh hoh hoh~ Your defense is quite weak, _snitch. _A filthy _man_ such as you is worth less than scum! You'll never measure up when compared to my lovely Luffy~" Boa Hancock looked down on me again by looking up at the sky. Her pet snake, coiled along her shoulder sniggered at my treatment. When she mentioned Luffy, hearts grew in her eyes, and her body swayed left and right enticingly.

I glanced at Mihawk to see what his opinion was, and all he did was snort and look away.

"I'm telling you, I'm no snitch!" A cold sweat went down my back. If these guys think I'm a snitch, then what does the rest of the world think? Will I be facing all sorts of up and coming pirates and criminals trying to prove themselves against the _snitch_? I know what happens to guys who carry around the snitch epitaph, it doesn't end well for them. This could really interrupt my plans of recruitment!

"I certainly don't care what you did Moria-chan, but _others_ will. I know you've been selling the weapons and merchandise of captured sailors for years. If the wrong people heard what happened here today, why, you'd lose all business and credibility. Why don't you tell me what's so scary about Blackbeard, and if it's worth enough…I'll handle any problems you might have with the brokers. I'm just looking out for a friend after all, Fuffu fuffu." Doflamingo pushed up his glasses, giving me a disinterested look.

At the same time, I saw Mihawk and Hancock tilt their bodies my way to get a better view of me. I see what's happening here. These bastards, they were fishing for information the entire time!

"You!"

"Well if that's how you feel, it's not like I'm that interested…"

"Tch, fine! He can take the devil fruits from the freshly dead, and transfer them to someone else! Not only that, he can use them himself. Blackbeard was going to _steal_ Whitebeard's devil fruit!" I all but shouted the reason why I had tried to stop Blackbeard.

Doflamingo lost his ever present smirk for a moment. After a seconds pause, another, even larger grin emerged. "Excellent! The chaos this will create! Fuffu fuffu!" Grabbing his sides, Doflamingo began to laugh uncontrollably.

"You're serious. I suppose filth has its uses from time to time." Hancock threw back her hair, and sauntered off towards the chasing force of Marine's. As she passed me by, I heard her mumbling something about Luffy, and bringing vengeance on any Marine that harmed a single hair on his precious head.

Mihawk even gave me a nod before going back to observing the fight between Sengoku and Blackbeard with his famous eyes.

Ugh, why do I care what these people think of me? I guess at the end of the day it's difficult trying to avoid people you once liked from a cartoon show. Although that's not the only thing. They're also the only people I can talk to on a relatively even footing. They're not my subordinate, not a Marine, and not a Yonko. In fact, these are the only people who could possibly pass off for 'friends' of mine in this cruel world. A deranged former World Noble who wants to spread chaos, an ambivalent sword freak, and a manhating ex slave, what greater 'friends' could I ask for?

Sobering up to the epiphany I just had, with the state of my 'friendship' I began to take into serious consideration what Sengoku had said to Blackbeard. While simultaneously ignoring the fight between Blackbeard and Sengoku, I formed a seat made of shadows, and assumed the classic 'thinker' pose with my chin resting on my fist. Or at least with what little chin I had left between all the fat.

First off, why would Sengoku do something like that? Did he catch wind that Blackbeard had made overtures to recruit me? Or maybe with Akainu dead, two of the seven Shichibukai defected, a wounded Aokiji, and escaping Ace, Sengoku sought to tie me closer to the World Government?! After showing his power, he knows I won't try to retaliate! My eyes widened in astonishment. I had once again underestimated Sengoku. First his power level, then his ability to scheme. In the show, he seemed like such a washed up old man, done with life. In every scene all he's doing is eating noodles, and talking to Garp about some big bad relevant to the current arc for story exposition! It makes me wonder why he ever retired.

Why did Sengoku step down from being Fleet-Admiral? In an anime world like this, martial arts, and personal power can extend a lifespan for dozens if not hundreds of years! It can't be that he resigned willingly…he didn't resign willingly! The Five Elder's pushed to replace Sengoku with Akainu! What a piss poor replacement. Under Sengoku's stewardship, in canon, Ace, and Whitebeard died, on live Den Den Mushi projection for the world to see. The only reason why he retired could only be because he had fallen out of favor. The World Noble's must've wanted someone who would follow their orders without question. Sengoku, with his long years of experience must've been able to skirt their commands to a fine line. I had equal parts admiration and hatred towards the man. Is this the feeling battle maniacs search for when they seek a 'worthy foe?'

"**BLACK HOLE**!" A familiar, desperate and breathless shout rang out.

_DODGE _My sixth sense was urging me to move.

Trusting my instincts, I jumped into the sky, as high as I could go. At the same time, I commanded Doppleman to ascend even further up. Fast as light he surpassed me in height, and I swapped places with him. Forming a platform to stand on, I took a look down below to see what set my sixth sense off so strongly.

The entire island of Marineford slowly sank into a dark abyss. Blackbeard's power had finally been unleashed.

"I wonder if Sengoku will get fired for this."

* * *

**AN: Alternate ending chapter sentence: "Let's see them call me a snitch now." I grinned into the void that was once Marineford.**


	20. Chapter 20

A day had passed, and the world was waking up to the death and birth of an era. With the death of Whitebeard, and the destruction of Marineford being live broadcast to the Sabaody Archipelago by Captain Buggy, news swiftly spread across the globe about the change to come.

**A Random Island in Paradise**

"Newgate passed on Captain, sorry your plan didn't work out."

"Luffy made it out okay, didn't he?"

"Y-yes, I believe so!"

"Haah~ We lost a gem today men! Let's party for the living, and party honoring the dead!

"OOOOOOHHHHH!"

"But Captain, what about your, your w-wound?"

"What this ole thing across my forehead? Haha! You should've seen what I did to him, this is nothing! Now let's party, that's an order!"

**Totto Land **

"Nei, Onii-chan, who's this Blackbeard guy?"

Arms crossed; Charlotte Katakuri felt his blood boil in anticipation of a good fight. The only problem was, would his family remained unscarred from this new threat? He couldn't predict the future that far out, but one thing was certain. He needed sugar.

"Onii-chan!~"

**Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army**

"Hey, looks like your brothers made it out okay, Mr. Secretary."

"Heh heh, that's my bro's, we can take on the world when we're together. Ain't that right, pops?"

"…."

"Looks like you got the cold shoulder again Mr. Secretary, hee hee!"

"Shut it!"

**Wano** **Country**

"Looks like Whitebeard finally bit the dust boss!"

*glug glug glug*

"Har har har! That's one less contestant for the throne, boss will surely take number one!"

*glug glug glug*

"Baka! Boss is already number one, are you looking to die!"

"Ah haaa hah, my mistake boss, my mistake!"

*glug glug glug buuuurp~*

"Red Hair…"

**Thriller Bark Island, East Blue**

"Absalom-sama, Absalom-sama, read the newspaper, the newspaper! An early edition has been released! Master is a hero! He defeated Oars Jr. and one of Whitebeards Commanders!" Blue hurriedly woke Absalom up from his slumber, literally shaking him out of bed.

"Coffee!" Absalom commanded Blue. As an afterthought, he swiped the newspaper from Blue's hands.

"Here's your coffee sir! Moria-sama was so cool! Here's the picture of him caving in the giants skull, on page A-24!" Blue jubilantly praised Moria.

"Okay, okay, Moria-sama is very dashing in this picture. Let's see what the article has to say. 'Gecko Moria, one of the Royal Shichibukai goes on to defeat notorious pirate Oars Jr. yadda yadda.' Basically Moria-sama is okay, and kicked ass. Now what's in store for us on the front page." Absalom quickly scanned the small section about Moria, deeming it to be uninteresting, he turned the paper back to the front page.

"Pfft!" spitting coffee all over the floor, Absalom yelped.

"Ah, was the coffee too hot this time Absalom-sama?" Blue, hidden behind a pillar eyed Absalom in fear.

"Blue, you flea bitten fool! Why didn't you tell me MARINEFORD WAS DESTROYED! Tens of thousands dead, and what's this a new Yonko?! The World Government must be in a flurry to maintain damage control!" Absalom tore through the images, paragraphs and pages like a rampaging typhoon.

"This is the scoop of the century, and I missed it! Ah, I wish I could've been there to seen the world change, this is a land mark event signaling the start of a new era Blue!" Absalom raved.

"But if you were there sir, wouldn't you have sunk into the ocean like everyone else?"

"Why you!" Absalom glared at Blue, and made a motion to kick him.

"Eep! I m-mean, our scout zombies have found two more targets on the list you've handed us! Moria-sama will be sure to praise you when he gets back home!" Blue quickly cowered behind the stone pillar, closing his eyes for a kick that would never come.

"Great work Blue, what were the targets found this time?" Absalom approached Blue with a smile.

Opening his eyes, Blue saw the smile on Absalom's face, and let out a sigh of relief. "They're the mercenary Golas, and the pirate El Drago, our sources in the Underworld say they were found drunk in a bar here in East Blue!."

"Excellent work Blue. Make sure to update me on the shooting range in the west side, and the progress of the factory in the east side later." Absalom gave Blue's head a pat.

"You know me Absalom-sama, always happy to please!" Blue beamed.

"Wait, later?" Blue asked in confusion.

"Oh and Blue?" Absalom continued to stroke Blue's head with a warm tone of voice.

"Y-yes Absalom-sama?"

"The coffee _was _to hot!" With a punt, Blue was sent screaming off the Castle Maste.

"It's the simple things in life that make it worth living." With a whistle, Absalom went about his day. An island of nearly a thousand zombie workers didn't manage itself after all.

* * *

In the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, a heated debate had erupted among the Gorōsei. A.k.a. the Five Elders.

"We must immediately call a media blackout of this information. No one can know that the seat of the Marine's power was so callously destroyed!" The black hatted Elder exclaimed in a loud commanding voice.

"It's too late for that, take a look at today's newspaper! We need to focus on what to do with Blackbeard, and this rubbish about the boy being proclaimed Pirate King, this is a threat on our sovereignty." The baldy in a gi maintained a level tone, but those who knew him that this was bit the calm before the storm. With a look of consternation, he pushed his glasses fiercely against the bridge of his nose as he waited for the next Elder to speak.

"What about Impel Down, hundreds of inmates escaped, perhaps thousands. Worst of all, most of level six has been emptied out completely. We must replace Magellan immediately." The long haired elder harrumphed coldly at his mention of Magellan.

"We need to fight! Mobilize Cipher Pol to organize a disinformation campaign against the Marine's failures! The public mustn't know about Impel Down's breakouts, additionally, Sakazuki's death was not recorded by the den den mushi, Cipher Pol must tell the world he is in recovery. The balance of the world is at stake here! Tens of thousands of New World Marine's gone in an instant. Our replacement plan for Sengoku has gotten himself killed. Two of our Shichibukai have defected, and worst of all, one of them has replaced Whitebeard who we had finally killed after years of effort. The balance must be maintained!" The bald mustached elder all but shouted to the room of nobles.

"Agreed." At Bald's urging, all the Elders agreed with his plan.

"Good. Do not forget, we must maintain extra vigilance in the face of the Yonko and Revolutionary army's increasing levels of aggression. Kong will have much work ahead of him in the days to come." Black Hat authoritatively addressed his fellow Elders.

"And what of Sengoku?" The fifth and final Gorōsei, the Blonde Elder asked enquiringly.

"If only we had Z still with us. His conviction, and hatred of the pirates would make a fine replacement for Sengoku's lukewarm stance." Black Hat sighed with emotion.

"Don't forget, it's Z's convictions in the first place that saw him go rogue. He values honor above pragmatism, a skill Sengoku has in spades. His ability to follow orders has eroded with the death of his wife and child." Glasses rebuked Black Hat's idea.

"So, he stays? What of the lads, Kizaru and Aokiji?" Bald's boisterous voice brought the focus to him as he stroked his walrus mustache in contemplation.

"He remains. For now. Aokiji follows the same ways as Sengoku, and Kizaru has no desire to be Fleet Admiral. There's no viable replacement…for now." A gleam appeared in Long Hairs eye, none of the other Elders had a clue as to what he was planning.

"So he stays, what of Aokiji, we can turn him into the next hero of the Marine's. Turn this tragedy into something uplifting. We could use Whitebeard's defeat to recruit more manpower. Kami knows we need it after the debacle at Marineford." Blonde looked to his fellow Elders for confirmation.

"Agreed." They intoned together.

"That leaves us with one final topic of discussion, the Shichibukai." Black Hat centered the groups focus.

"I have two candidates in mind, I feel that you're going to like them." Long Hair clasped his hands and looked to Black Hat, explaining in detail the new members of the Shichibukai that he had in mind.

"Those two! You sure are ambitious today! HAHAHA!" Bald's voice had reached new levels in boisterousness.

"If it's those two…I cannot complain. The balance between powers will be maintained." Glasses retained his stern, stoic expression, but to the perceptive eye, one could notice a small weight lifted off his shoulder based on the change in his posture.

"Speaking of the Shichibukai, we have one waiting outside our doors, shall we let him in?" At Blonde's question, the rest of the group nodded in affirmation.

With a nod of his own, Blonde pulled a rope, sounding a gong. As the soundwave travelled, large creaking doors slowly swung open to reveal the figure of Gecko Moria.

* * *

A day had passed since the destruction of Marineford. Instead of heading straight for the East Blue, and Thriller Bark Island, I had booked a meeting with the rulers of the world. The Gorōsei. The night after the battle, I had bathed, ate, enjoyed a long shit, had my clothes laundered and sewn together, and slept my exhaustion off at a guest quarters in Mary Geoise. The bed was particularly soft, and food had never tasted so good. Hell, that was probably the best shit I'd ever had in my life. It was a mundane affair for sure, but it's true that it's the simple things in life that are the best. Battle affects everyone differently, and I was no different.

Upon waking up, my body, predictably, was sore all over, but I wasn't worried about appearing weak. My clothes covered the bruises, and I wore no bandages. On the surface, I looked no different than the day I became Moria. I had planned on this meeting ever since I accepted my new reality. However, in all of my calculations, I had never expected Marineford to disappear off the face of the map! Perhaps I can turn this development into my favor.

Sengoku's attempt to marry me closer to the government might just be the edge I need to complete my objective. If I played my cards right, I could win big, I simply need to pay these self-entitled Noble's the appropriate amount of respect, and it should be smooth sailing. The Gorōsei were a conservative bunch however, and despite my inflated confidence, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous to meet them.

They may've made the questionable decision of appointing Buggy as a Shichibukai, but that didn't offset their ruthlessness. They Buster Called Ohara, and countless other places, genociding countless people, nations, and cultures. Their commands are followed without question by Cipher Pol, and the Marines.

Finally, given their scars, and the balls they had to stand in front of Shanks completely unguarded, I wouldn't put it pat them to have some broken fighting prowess. This is a world that values strength, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if physical capabilities were a prerequisite for sitting on this council. These five seem much more intelligent, ruthless, and down to earth than any of the other World Noble's. The time for underestimating people was at an end.

As the large doors creaked open, an aged voice, laced with authority came from inside the room.

"You may enter."

When I entered the room, I took note of each Elder to see what their opinion of me might be. A Blonde Elder openly wore a scowl, and a Long Haired Elder was frowning. Otherwise the rest wore default, stern expressions, neither unhappy, or happy to see me.

"Gecko Moria, at you service." Placing my right hand above my heart, I gave a small formal bow to show my sincerity, and give the appropriate amount of face.

"Speak. Why have you requested this audience Moria. While We are always happy to see Our loyal subject, current events have left Our patience wearing thin."

I could finally put a face to the authoritative voice. An Elder in a black hat motioned for me to speak. Showtime!

"Honorable Gorōsei, since time is short, I'll keep my request simple. Given the recent breakouts of Impel Down, we now know that the impregnable fortress can be breached. I have a fool proof plan which will make any future breakouts an impossibility. In short, my plan will resurrect Impel Down's former aura of invincibility." Pausing to take a breath, I glanced at the Elders to see their reaction. Black Hat and Glasses nodded at one another, while Long Hair's frown deepened further.

"And what is this plan, Moria. Do not keep Us in any further suspense. How will you help renew Our faith in Impel Down?" A bald boisterous Elder scrutinized me with squinted eyes.

Fearful that I'd draw the ire of the most powerful people on the planet, I was quick to respond.

"My plan is simple. Among the abilities granted to me by my devil fruit, the kage-kage no mi allows me to take the shadows of others. Should a person with no shadow step into the sunlight, they'll turn into ash. Since Impel Down is underground, and has no natural sunlight, my devil fruit will be an extra security measure against all future breakouts!" I excitedly laid out my plan. Sengoku, you schemed to tie me further to the government, fine! Who said I didn't already plan to do so in the first place! Most isekai'd people would do all they could to distance themselves from a corrupt military dictatorship. But they're my ticket to surviving in this cruel chaotic world. I refuse to be hunted down by every pirate, Marine, adventurer and bounty hunter because of something like morals. The law of the jungle is, that survival supersedes all morals! With an endless supply of high tier pirates and criminals' shadows, my dream of a powerful zombie army can be realized. At the same time, I'll become an indispensable defense for the World Government. This is what's called having your cake, and eating it too!

"And what if the inmates escape during the night?" The blonde Elder who had been scowling at me since the beginning of the meeting posed a question.

Prepared for this question, I replied immediately. "If the inmates somehow breakout, and its daytime, they'll be forced to hunker in place as Marine reinforcements arrive! And if by some miracle of Kami they escape at night, they'll be cursed to live a life indoors during daylight, or face utter disintegration. Even if they've escaped Impel Down, they'll still be prisoners for twelve hours of the day! The strongest fighters could be hunkering in their ships, fearing the daylight. To end this menace, even someone as weak as a Marine Lieutenant could blast a hole in the side of the pirate ship, flooding the interior with sunlight. Someone like Straw Hat Luffy, or Firefist Ace would never experience true freedom again. Ki shi shi."

Looking around, I saw slight nods from all of the Elders, even Blonde. A wide grin broke out on my face at their reaction. 'Straw Hat' and 'Firefist' sure were the magic words to rile up this old bunch. I'm sure the idea of restricting the freedom of others got these guys' panties in a twist too.

"And that's my plan, honorable Elders." I wiped the grin off my face, and tried to match their stoicism in attempt to make my plan appear more attractive.

Glancing at one another, it seems they had made a consensus.

"We shall take your request into consideration Moria, if only all of Our subjects were as loyal as you." Glasses paid me lip service, praising my 'loyalty.' Even though everyone in the room knew that a Shichibukai's loyalty was flimsy at best, and intrinsically tied to the strength of the World Government. The second the World Government lost the power to assist and protect the Shichibukai, is the second the Shichibukai rebelled.

"We will have a response to your inquiry in the days to come." Black Hat ended the meeting.

Knowing a dismissal when I heard one, I bowed once again, left. As the doors closed, I heard the tail end of a conversation.

"…-ever again…Fist won't…-appen…-gan"

"…-awn of…devil…"

"Plan…-viable…"

I didn't manage to hear much before the door was completely shut, and I was escorted back to my quarters. Laying down in my giant-sized bed, I began to think about yesterday. I was still sour over all the corpses lost along with the sinking of Marineford. Thousands of perfectly good New World pirate corpses, gone! However, if this plan works, heh heh, I'll never have a shortage of powerful shadows. A small bitter sweet smile wormed its way onto my face. I've overcome Marineford, now onto bigger and better things.

* * *

**AN: Who do you think the two new Shichibukai will be? **


	21. Chapter 21

The cool sea breeze buffeted my face as the Marine ship I was on sped upon the rapids towards Impel Down. Less than two hours after my meeting with the Gorōsei, my plan to take the shadows from the inmates had been greenlit. A contract was drawn up, upon which I agreed to make a trip to Impel Down every two years to collect shadows.

I was giddy at first, but…"Is this really necessary? The Fleet Admiral, and our boss, the Celestial Dragons trust me, why did you have to tag along?" Flanked on my left and right were Vice Admiral Doberman, and another Vice Admiral, one with a red pony tail and mustache. I think his name is, Momonga?

"Keep quiet pirate scum! I could be hunting down the Whitebeard remnants right now, but instead I have to baby sit your worthless hide. Tch!" Doberman spit off the railing, and kept glaring holes into my back.

"Ahem, what Vice Admiral Doberman means is that with the advent of recent events, it pays to be cautious. In any case, we're not here simply to escort you, the honorable Shichibukai, Gecko Moria. We also need to take stock of the situation at Impel Down." Momonga attempted to defuse any tension by being diplomatic.

"Ki shi shi shi, you've set my heart at ease Vice Admiral. You have no need to worry about tensions breaking out into a fight between your attack dog and I. Just keep him his leash tight enough, and we won't have any problems. Although…if your mutt doesn't get himself inline, I wouldn't mind neutering him, free of charge. We're all subordinates of the same master after all." I completely ignored Doberman, while I spoke to Momonga. I kept my face devoid of any smirk or smile during my entire delivery.

I was never mad at Doberman in the first place, it's just great to push his buttons. Riding on a boat is fun for the first five minutes sure, but with no conversation partners amongst the rank and file, I've got to find my entertainment somehow.

"That's…" Momonga was once again looking how to defuse the situation. A drop of sweat slowly dripped down his forehead.

"You're fortunate the higher ups value you so much, swine. Your family name shouldn't be Gecko, how about walrus, or hippo? How someone as fat as you is supposed to benefit world security, I'll never know." Doberman stroked his sword, preparing to draw it at any moment.

He clearly hoped I would attack him, but I'm not falling for his bait.

"And you're fortunate…"

"Ahem! Gentleman, we've arrived!" Momonga interrupted our squabble. Impel Down in all its towering glory appeared out of the mist.

Hmm, the outside was massive, but my island and Castle Mast were at least three times larger than this. Although, it's best to keep in mind that Impel Down is larger the further one went down.

As we disembarked, I caught sight of the new Chief Warden, Hannyabal. His back was hunched, and he picked his nose, bored out of his wits waiting for us. In another life, Moria, and Hannyabal could've formed the Lazy Pirates. I don't think there's any two canon characters as lazy as these two, haha. Standing behind him in a position of clear subordination was the ex-Chief Warden, Magellan. To his side, two rows of about one hundred Marine's were saluting us. I'll never get tired of that sight.

"Welcome to Superjail, ahem, welcome to Impel Down, I'm the _Chief Warden _Hannyabal. The higher ups told me they have a job for you, let's get it done and over with so I can get back to sleep." Hannyabal greeted us in the most bored and dry voice I'd ever heard. Clerks could learn a thing or two from the sheer boredom this guy put into his voice. The only time he perked up was when he introduced himself as Chief Warden.

Without waiting for a reply, Hannyabal turned around, and led us deeper into Impel Down where I could finally get the shadows to empower my army and work force. It felt a lot like I was getting a quest reward at the end of a campaign.

* * *

That was a fruitful venture! My pockets were bursting at the seams just trying to contain all of the shadows I'd stolen! More than 3,000 pirate shadows were contained within my clothing. And the worst part was, that there were still thousands more at Impel Down who I hadn't stolen from! I couldn't contain more than three thousand on my body at once, and even then, I felt over encumbered, like a character in Skyrim with too much weight.

Since the shadows I could contain were limited, I had to pick and choose who I stole from. I obtained about 100 shadows from level five, 400 from level four, 850 from level three, and 1,650 from level two. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to visit level six, because of a new policy barring anyone but Cipher Pol or Marine Vice Admirals from going down there. Personally, I was willing to bet most of them escaped, and the World Government doesn't want to admit it.

Finding people on level five and four was difficult, because they were all either dying, dead, or hiding. Most of the people on level three died horrible, horrible deaths from Magellan during the breakout. Level two's inmates also got liquified, but there were so many of them that it was easy for me to capture their shadows. Perhaps I'll come back for the shadows on level one someday, even a weak zombie with nothing more than a rifle is a menace. I'd guess 90% or more of the population on this world could be killed by a non-haki empowered bullet. Trash mobs are great for wearing down stronger opponent's stamina anyway.

As the tour came to an end, and we were once more at the surface of Impel Down, I turned to Magellan.

"Oi, Magellan. Join my crew, and capture all the targets you let escape. Redeem yourself in the eyes of the law and Justice." I held out my hand for the disgraced ex Chief Warden of Impel Down.

Magellan glanced at my hand, and responded in a monotone voice. "Ally with a pirate like you? Never." Turning his back to me, he walked away.

"Ki shi shi shi, you didn't sound so enthusiastic about rejecting my request. If you ever change your mind, my offer stands!" I shouted at his back.

"Ha! Magellan may be a disgraced has-been who allowed hundreds if not more than a thousand criminal scum escape, but he still has honor. He'd never join you." Doberman sidled up next to me, gloating at my failed recruitment.

"Don't be so sure. If he really is as honorable as you think he is, he might just join my crew to get his honor back. That being said, I have better things to do with my time than be seen with a mood killer like you. Later loser!" Smirking at Doberman's scowling face, I jumped into the sky, and produced my now classic surfboard shaped shadow, and flew away, following the path of my vivre card. I took a seat, wrapped myself in shadow to secure my body, and sent the surfboard towards the East Blue at full speed.

"Woah, that's fast!" Slowing down a lot, I felt my head spin. I was so dizzy, swirls appeared in my eyes. I almost felt like vomiting from the vertigo.

"Okay, maybe let's just ramp the speed up, and get to a speed I'm comfortable at, haha." Laughing to myself, I gradually increased the speed until I was moving faster than I ever had in my past life. I had once driven my car from Los Angeles to San Fransisco, a total of 617 kilometers. During that trip, there were large stretches of empty flatland, and few cars. The fastest I had ever moved while in a vehicle under my control was at about 201kph. I felt like I could process that kind of speed fairly easily, and still control my vehicle.

With my new body's reflexes, speed, strength, sixth sense, and the ability to manipulate reality, I was now comfortably flying into East Blue at about triple the speed of my past life's self. More than 600kph! I wasn't confident that I could fight like this, at my current level. But if I ever get prediction skills as strong as Katakuri, maybe one day.

* * *

**Thriller Bark Island**

"You don't have to do this Kenji, stay here in the underground village with us. The Rolling Pirates may have perished, but we can still hide!" A wrinkled old man, placed a gnarled hand on Kenji's shoulder, urging him to stay. The old man had a small inflated belly, a hunched back, and was unhealthily skinny.

"No! I can't stay here any longer gramps! You and the other villagers have been stuck here, feeding me all of your extra food. You're worst of all gramps, you won't eat till everyone else has had a bowl of stew! Ever since I ate that weird looking fruit, we've been stuck down here farming mushrooms. Mushrooms! I'm going to the surface, and getting everyone's shadows back!" Kenji proclaimed. Slightly on the short side, Kenji had messy brown hair, a dirt stained face, and wore a burlap vest. The only thing remarkable about him were his green eyes, filled with determination.

"Kenji, your ability to grow mushrooms is a blessing to everyone down here, don't throw everyone's lives away for your selfishness! It's too dangerous in the above world!" Old Man tried to convince Kenji not to go, desperation in his voice.

"You told me that when I turned sixteen, I am an adult. Well I'm sixteen now, and I'm sick of eating nothing but mushrooms, sick of seeing my family barely getting by. I've only been to the surface world three times in my life. Three! I've lived here all my life; I didn't have my shadow taken. The scouts said, the boss of the island is cutting down trees, and flattening parts of the island. It's only a matter of time before they discover the village! Only I can save everyone, that's what Priest says! He said my power was a gift from Kami." Kenji retorted, the fires of conviction in his eyes.

"We call him Priest because he's always preaching about hope, don't be fooled Kenji, please, don't go!" Old Man tried one last time to convince Kenji.

"I'm sorry Gramps, I love everyone in the village too much to see them continue suffering like this. There are now enough mushrooms that even if I do fail, you can breed them and grow more. This village will do just fine without me…But I won't lose! When you see your shadow, you'll know that R. D. Kenji has succeeded!"

* * *

"Perona-sama!"

"Perona-sama! Red said you have more training to do!"

"We'll get punished if you don't come back for training. Perona-sama!" A dozen zombies combed the forest in search of Perona.

"Damn zombies, and damn that Red! When can a girl get a break around here! I just want to cuddle with cute things, eat strawberries, and relax! This forest will do for now, but I'm the only cute thing in the entire woods." Perona pouted, while mumbling to herself.

"Haha! Found you! She's over here boy's!" A zombie grabbed onto Perona's wrist to take her back to the Castle Mast.

"Kya! Unhand me!" Perona slapped the zombie in the face.

"Uh, sorry Perona-sama, we're just following Red's orders, and since it's coming from the master, we'll have to disobey your order!" The zombie had a look of regret on his face.

"Unhand the fair maiden, beast!" Charging forward, Kenji encased his fist within a mushroom he had created preparing to strike the zombie.

"Green Mushroom Series: Fist!" When Kenji's fist connected with the zombie's head, the mushroom exploded with a concussive force. As a result, the zombie's head had completely caved in, returning the shadow that had been possessing it back to its original owner.

"Yatta! I did it! Are you okay miss? I haven't seen you around the village before. Did you have your shadow taken? Have you seen the monster yet? Stay away from the tower! I'll have to introduce you to gramps and the rest!" At his first victory, Kenji was so excited, he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings, and spoke nonstop at Perona before she could even react.

"Oi, why'd you do that to Raphael! You're going to pay for that! Get him guys!"

"For Raphael!"

"I didn't really like Raphael myself."

"SHUT IT STEVE! Chaaaarge!"

"Ah, sorry about this. I'll take care of them real quick. My names Kenji by the way, R. D. Kenji!" Kenji beamed at Perona, and took a fighting stance towards the zombies.

"Green Mushroom Series: Cannon!" Kenji formed a mushroom the size of an RPG, and held it on his shoulder.

"Fire!" The head of the mushroom launched out, and blew up five of the charging zombies.

"Damn, I thought I'd get them all with that. Now to face my ultimate technique. Black Mushroom Series: Armor!" Standing at 2 meters tall, Kenji wore a slim, sleek, and shiny suit of amor made from black mushrooms. The shoulder pads ended in mushroom tips, and much like brass knuckles, his gauntlets had mushroom tips covering his knuckles.

"Die zombie!" Kenji crashed into the remaining enemies, utterly pulverizing them.

"Damnit, our swords can't penetrate that armor! Try something else!" Drawing a rusted pistol, the zombie, Steve, unloaded seven shots into Kenji's mushroom armor, near point blank.

"It isn't work-!" *crunch*

"And that's that!" Dismissing his armor, after victory, Kenji walked back to Perona with a beaming smile on his face.

"Did you see me get those zombies! Kuru kuru kuru!" Kenji laughed with boyish innocence.

"O-Oi, are you okay? Why'd your face get red like that, do you have a fever? Is that blood leaking out your nose?! Did the zombies hurt your nose? Tissue! Tissue!" Kenji scrambled around his pockets looking for a tissue.

"Ah? Ah! No no no, I'm okay! Just shocked is all! My name is Perona! And no, I'm not new to the island, I live over there, why don't I show you where I live?" Perona gestured towards the Castle Mast.

"Oh, you're a resident on this island too? Do you also live in an underground village!?" Kenji smiled.

"That smile is unfair." Perona muttered.

"Excuse me?" Kenji tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Uhm. Are you hungry Kenji? We have all sorts of wonderful food at home. Tarts, pies, even ice cream!" Perona ignored any mention of underground homes. Yuck! Who would want to live underground!

"Food other than mushrooms! That sounds _awesome_, let's go!" Grabbing Perona's arm, Kenji sprinted in the direction she had pointed towards earlier.

* * *

"Haaaah~" With a long yawn, and a stretch of the arms, I descended out of the sky onto Thriller Bark Island, directly into my room on the Castle Mast.

Not bad, what would take a ship sailing non-stop a week of travel, I did in five hours. It wouldn't surprise me if the ships I stole from Marineford will take another five to seven days to show up at the pace they're moving. Flying is going to be my preferred mode of travel from now on. Now then, let's see what kind of progress Absalom has made in my absence.

Taking a look out of my room's balcony, I saw that most of the graveyard had been cleaned of debris, and transformed into a shooting range. Even now, zombies were practicing hitting targets. A few were using cutlasses, and knives in close quarters. One had his guts spilled out, and was using his intestines as a lasso to the cheers of his fellow zombies.

To the side of the graveyard, a section of forest had been cut down, de-stumped, and currently in the process of having the ground flattened. Part of my long-term money-making schemes was to have a factory go there. Put tireless zombies in a factory where things like working conditions or carcinogens won't affect production is a win-win in my book. Zombies can't get pregnant, zombies don't need food, and most importantly, zombies can't rebel!

Thinking about it now, if I keep people prisoner, what would I do, have them work underground? I'd have to feed, clothe them, and worry about potential uprisings. Maybe I'll pay them minimum wage and treat them slightly better than this world's peasants. Have them sign a ten-year contract where I'll give them their shadow back for ten years of labor. Give them chances to move up in the social ladder, become officers in my army, or learn skills like accounting or carpentry. The current world order isn't much different come to think of it. I planned to live a long life in this world, might as well plant the seeds today for tomorrows harvest.

Rubbing my chin lost in thought, I noticed something strange. Some boy was utterly destroying my zombies where I planned to set up the factory. Not only that, he was a devil fruit user! My first instinct was to jump down there, and put a stop to this mess, but caution won out this time. Better to observe his abilities, and then attack from an ambush, then to go the direct way.

* * *

"I'm sorry Perona, the villains must've broken into your home. There's more of them this time, so stay back! Green Mushroom Series: Cannon!" With an explosion, half a dozen zombies were destroyed.

"Again!" Firing his RPG a dozen more times, Kenji defeated the zombie workforce, and put scars into the landscape.

"Quick, lets find your home Perona!" Kenji went to go tug on Perona's arm, but she didn't move.

"There's something I have to tell you Kenji." Perona was looking at her toes, her eyes were covered by her hair.

"This is my home."

Before Kenji even had time to react to Perona's statement, he was encased from the neck down in a bubble of shadow. The normally upbeat and cheerful Kenji didn't even struggle as he was cacooned.

"That's a lie." Kenji whispered.

"I'm sorry Kenji, but ti's true." Perona bit her lip, and twisted her hands in nervousness.

"IT'S A LIE! You're lying." Kenji's head slumped in defeat.

**(Line Break)**

"Ki shi shi shi, good work capturing the brat Perona. With the strength he displayed, his shadow will more than make up for the pitiful performance of the zombies we lost. Where did he come from anyway?"

"He, he was lost adrift in the ocean, Moria-sama. I found him in the forest, and lured him here promising food and snacks." Perona looked down at the boy in question.

Hmm, didn't think I'd have to take care of an incident like this right when I got back. Oh well, the world works in mysterious ways. Whistling a merry toon, I floated the cocoon of shadow next to me while I walked back to the tower. I couldn't wait for the ships full of zombies and corpses to arrive. I had all these shadows, and very few suitable corpses to place them in. Perhaps that deep freeze chamber has more corpses waiting to be turned into zombies.

"Uh, Moria-sama…" Perona spoke in a small voice. What's this? Isn't she always boisterous and bossy?

"What's the issue Perona?" I asked in a slightly concerned tone of voice. Perona was one of my employees, not to mention a cute young girl. I didn't have any romantic feelings for her, but I felt responsible to give each of my subordinates at least some attention.

"C-can I have Ken-, uh, that boy as my servant? I promise to take care of him, and that he won't cause any trouble!" A nervous Perona entreated.

"So, let me get this straight, you want this boy as your servant, and not the zombie servant I'm going to make from his shadow, correct?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes, that's right!" Perona looked at me with an intense focus I had yet to see from her before. Usually her expressions are cold disdain, female fury, or clear disinterest. Huh, interesting.

"Okay Perona, I'll let you have this servant. On one condition." I smirked.

"Wh-what condition would that be Moria-sama?" Seeing the smirk on my face, Perona became slightly apprehensive.

"You have to double your training."

"I-I'll do it! I'll do it Moria-sama!" Perona clenched her fists adorably, and looked at me with fierce determination.

"Ki shi shi shi, very well. Once I take his shadow, he's yours to do with as you please."

"Thank you Moria-sama!" Perona ran into my back, and gave me a bear like hug.

"!"

"D-did I do wrong Moria-sama?" Perona looked at the ground.

"I was surprised is all, you're a good kid Perona." I patted her head, and smiled.

* * *

**AN: I've been fast and loose with my measurement system, from now on I'm going to be using Meters, Kilometers, Centimeters, etc. I typically use miles, feet, and inches, but since I work in a lab and am used to that measurement system, and the rest of the world (outside of U.S) uses the metric system, that's what I'll use for this story. **


	22. Chapter 22

"AAAAAHHHHHH~" After a hearty yawn, I stretched my arms into the air, and smacked my lips in satisfaction. It had been a day since I returned from Impel Down, and there's nothing like sleeping in your own home. Based on the grandfather clock in my room, I slept till 11am. A well deserved rest in my book.

"Good morning Moria-sama, what would you like for breakfast?" A cheerful chipmunk-like voice sounded below me.

"Bwah? Oh, ahem, Red, it's you. Ah, I'll have something simple today." I scratched the back of my head. Was Red watching me sleep all night long?

"Right away sir!"

"Oh, and grab Absalom and Hogback along the way, I have much to discuss with them."

Bowing, Red left me to my own devices.

"Haaah~" Yawning once more, I went to the balcony to take another look over my island. Just how big is it? In the One Piece Movie Gold, the antagonist had a pirate ship of about 13km in length. Robin said that Moria's ship, the Thriller Bark was the largest in the world. So does that mean my ship is at least 14km in diameter? I'll have to get one of the tri-color minions to ask Absalom, if I asked him, that'd just be embarrassing. A captain who doesn't even know the size of their own ship?

Keeping up my surveillance of the island, I spotted the zombies at the shooting range. They kept up their combat drills, shooting, stabbing, and climbing over walls with ladders and ropes. The land where the factory was to be installed had had all of the wholes patched, and flattened all over again. Absalom sure does work fast when it comes to directing the zombies. His combat potential may not be the highest, but his managerial talent is first class. Having him learn sniping, and stay in the background can only be a positive towards my forces long term growth.

Thoughts of Absalom aside, that factory isn't going up anytime soon. Realistically, I'll have to pay off the tithe to the World Noble's first before I even think about building any kind of factory. Factory parts cost money, and I can only get them if I buy them from a kingdom or the black market, or if I steal them. Although, it's unlikely I can steal factory parts. I imagine steel mills are heavily guarded by Marine's or Underworld dealers. With all the things I have going on, all the enemies I've made, stealing parts for a factory would bring more trouble than it's worth.

"Your breakfast Moria-sama." Red held up a bowl of white rice, with chunks of fish in them.

Simple indeed.

"Moria-sama. Red hand this map to Moria-sama, it has the location of two of our targets. El Drago, and the mercenary Golas have been sighted, Captain." Absalom nodded in my direction as he entered.

"M-Moria-sama!" His neck was flushing, glasses askew, haggard looking Hogback entered my study.

I gave a look towards Red. _What's the deal with him?_

In response, Red shied away from my eyes, and stood to the side of the room.

Ohhhkay, let's get this meeting started. Picking up my chopsticks, I ate a few mouthfuls of food before addressing the two. "Good work on the information gathering Absalom, I look forward to your diligence in the future. However, the occupation of spymaster is a heavy task, especially considering you manage Thriller Bark. That being said, I have a few ideas to make that aspect of your job easier. We'll discuss this topic, and the matter regarding these two potential recruits later." Rolling up the map, I placed it on a cleared desk, and got to the topic at hand.

"Gentleman, as you are aware, we require a little less than 17,000,000 beri to reach our goal of 30,000,000 to pay the tithe. One of my money making ideas is to set up a silk materials factory. From it, we can make ropes, nets, parachutes, stylish light weight clothing, bed sheets, and perhaps even bullet proof clothing. Dr. Hogback, I've seen the spider monkey in action. Can he produce enough silk to work in a factory?" The reason why I had summoned Hogback for this meeting, instead of just Absalom was to get an answer to this very critical question.

"I'll have to double check the spider monkey's output Moria-sama, but for now, I'll give a tentative yes. I never thought about using a zombie animal hybrid for something like labor before. You've given me new inspiration to further my art! Fos fos fos fos!" Hogback laughed a zealous laugh.

Lost in thought, and muttering to himself about "the possibilities" Hogback almost walked away in a stupor before I spoke again. "Absalom, I want you to inform our Underworld contacts about our desire for factory parts. Then cross reference the price they're quoting with the market value. Secrecy isn't that big of a deal in this transaction, so feel free to ask several companies to enter a bidding war. We'll take whichever outfit offers the lowest prices." For those uninitiated in the ways of business, most companies worked like this in my old world. Hopefully a similar situation occurs in the One Piece World. Paying a premium on services because of a lack of competition is a hit to my pocketbook I _do not _want to take.

"Right away Moria-sama." Absalom turned to carry out his task.

What, is today ignore Gecko Moria day? Summoning a hand shaped shadow, I slapped Absalom lightly across the face to grab his attention.

"Just a minute gentleman." I had them wait for five minutes while I finished my rice bowl. Was it petty? Yes. However, if you don't respect the boss over the little things, sometimes people won't respect the boss when it really counts, and I won't tolerate disobedience.

"Now that we have a concrete idea on our long term gains, I have a fool proof plan that will see us surpass our goal of thirty million, and then some. We'll even elevate ourselves to nobility." And if this plan somehow doesn't work out, I can sell the pirate ships and Marine ship I plundered from Marineford. However, that was a plan B I didn't want to enact, and not something worth mentioning in this conversation.

"Fos Fos Fos, Cindry-chan and I can be the Baron and Baroness Hogback!" Hogback gave a creepy laugh as he imagined all sorts of lewd acts.

"Nobility Moria-sama?...Won't the Government get on our case if we openly take over a nation?" Absalom rubbed his cheek, and hesitantly questioned my orders. He looked like he was expecting another blow would come. However, another hit never came.

I respected and valued naysayers given the right setting and situation. And during an officer's meeting is the best time to question my decision making, I'm not all knowing or clairvoyant. If I would've harvested all those corpses from Marineford.

"No need to worry about the Government this time around. I've earned us a bit of a grace period with certain meritorious deeds recently. However, that doesn't mean we can go overboard. Follow my orders, and we'll have another successful mission, just like the Ukkari Hot-Springs."

"Thanks for the explanation sir!" Absalom saluted, and stood in place, waiting for his dismissal.

"Of course. I appreciate your advice Absalom, you're a valued member of this crew." Praising Absalom, I patted him on the shoulder. In my experience, it's always important to reinforce bonds of loyalty. Casual friendliness had gotten me out of a tough situation more than one time in my life. Remember someone's name, give half a damn about their past, and you'll stand out more in their mind then the surrounding faceless masses.

"Speaking of the Ukkari Hot-Springs, how is our guest doing? You're keeping him well fed, yes?"

"Three meals a day, and we've refrained from torturing or beating him, like you've instructed Captain. Although…he sure is an odd fellow, sometimes he forgets to breath, he'll stick his food in his ears or the time he forgot to speak when being asked questions…Do you wish to see him?" Absalom replied. Based on his tone of voice, it seemed he was worried I'd punish him over the prisoner's eccentricities.

"Sure, why not. He's held in the cells by the Freezer Block, correct? I needed to head over there today anyway, and take stock of the bodies. I recently acquired a large amount of shadows that need a deposit." A wide grin emerged on my face. The zombies made from Impel Down shadows will have the skills and abilities of some of the most powerful criminals in the world. It was _finally _time for my power spike.

"Before we go Absalom. Red, get over here!" I motioned for Red's attention.

"Yes Moria-sama?"

"Spread the word to any idle zombies. I want 100 rats caught in the next five days. It doesn't matter if you kill them, but they have to look like normal rats and have as little damage as possible."

"Yes!" With a shout, Red left with gusto.

"Rats, Moria-sama?" Absalom questioned with a confused voice.

"Rats Absalom. I know you currently gather information through newspapers, and our contacts in the Underworld. And I suspect you share rumors and have made penpals with the people who are subscribed to that hentai magazine you read. So I thought I'd make your life easier."

"He-he-hen." Absalom stuttered.

"Yes, I'll place shadows into the rats, and have them act as spies. We'll start with 100 for now. I want you to train them code, and how to use a den den mushi." Turning away from the wheezing Absalom, I addressed Hogback.

"Oh, and Hogback, you're dismissed. If possible, I would like you to brainstorm uses for the spider silk from a medical perspective. Maybe Cindry would have a good eye for designing clothes." I waved a hand in dismissal, and walked away.

"Ooooo! Cindry-chan will love it! Thank you Moria-sama!" Hogback's voice faded as I rounded a corner.

"Let's go Absalom." I walked ahead, expecting him to keep up. Back in my room, I heard a shout.

"IT's NOT HENTAI! IT'S ART!"

* * *

On my journey towards the zone of my ship known as the Freezer Block, I heard a passionate, muffled voice. "And remember, you have to keep up the act around Moria-sama. Be yourself when it's just you and me. Before you know it, you'll have your shadow back…do enough meritorious deeds for Moria-sama, and we can even get your villages shadow's back! He's not that bad of a guy, he values usefulness more than most anything else. Show us you're more useful than the shadows that come from your village, and everyone can go free. And remember, don't try anything funny, or I'll tell Moria-sama where your village is!"

Absalom had caught up to me, and kept glancing about furtively. Heh, like I care what people do in their off time. As long as my subordinates can do their jobs effectively, and don't mess with my organizational structure or damage my image; they're free to do whatever they please.

As Absalom and I got closer to the muffled voice, I heard a second voice respond with thick sarcasm. I almost didn't recognize the voice because it was so lacking in cheer. "You're right as always. Perona-_sama_."

"I told you Kenji, when it's just the two of us, call me Perona, A! No sama, just Perona! You're so not cute today!" An irate Perona complained.

Rounding the corner, Absalom and I were greeted by the sight of a pouting Perona being followed around by that kid I captured yesterday. The kid, Kenji? Had his burlap sack vest replaced, and now he wore a butler uniform, and a fancy silver inlaid dog collar around his neck. Taking a closer look, I saw a mutinous gleam in his eye as he stood behind Perona. They're just about the same size in height. Given his stature, I wonder if he has a Napoleon complex?

"I didn't know you were into that S&M stuff Perona. Kinky." Absalom guffawed.

"Stupid lion, you make me look bad! Ahem, uh Moria-sama, this is my new servant, Kenji! He's real strong, and has a devil fruit! Uhm, during your next mission, could you send him out to prove himself? He's _super loyal _and can do all sorts of stuff. Say hi, Kenji." Perona lost her cool at Absalom, but quickly reeled it back in to plead her case.

"Super loyal, huh? You sure move fast girl!" Absalom wolf whistled in provocation.

Perona looked like she was about to burst a gasket, but held back, waiting for my response. A silence had descended on our group as I began to think.

I stared at Kenji, waiting for him to greet me. Seeing his expression change from a roaring anger, to defeat, and finally acceptance was absolutely hilarious. Although the look in his eye still hadn't changed.

Gritting his teeth, Kenji had finally responded before the situation got any more awkward due to the abnormally long silence. "Hello…Moria…sama. I'm Kenji, and I can't wait to prove myself to you, and officially join your crew." Kenji gave his reply haltingly at first, but eventually got into the flow of things. His face had a look of constipation the entire time, like something on the inside was slowly withering away. He kind of reminded me of those kids who read a speech off a piece of paper that their parents wrote. Totally fake, and unbelievable performance.

I saw out of the corner of my eye, Perona facepalming in exasperation.

"Welcome aboard Kenji, it's a shame you hadn't joined us willingly and destroyed some of my zombies. However, with time, I'm certain you'll make a fine addition to this crew. In return, you can work for me to pay off the damages. However…" I trailed off as I tried to think of a solution.

"However? 'However', what?! Please let him get his shadow back Moria-sama! Please! Please! Please!" Perona fell on her knees and pled Kenji's case. Not even giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.

Absalom had a twinkle of a tear in his eye, even Kenji looked moved by her performance. Knowing the little hellion that she is, I didn't know if this was genuine, or a performance. Regardless, I was stunned just like Absalom and Kenji.

Hey little girl, give me some time to think before you break out the waterworks! I can't always have sudden inspiration on the fly!...But then again, another devil fruit user would be a useful asset to my arsenal of tools. There's only so much the undead can do. Hmm, I had a starred off into the distance.

"Eep!" Perona exclaimed when she saw my face.

Even Kenji took a step back, like he'd seen a ghost.

"Ha ha, looks like your pretty boy isn't going to be making it out of this one." Absalom snickered to himself.

What, this is simply the expression my face makes when I'm thinking. What are you all scared of!

"However." I continued where I left off.

"Kenji needs to prove himself capable of following commands. And Absalom just volunteered himself as the instructor. I've seen the fine work you've done. Training the zombies how to shoot, and better follow orders under fire isn't a simple task. Teach Kenji well Absalom." I gave him another pat on the shoulder in encouragement. I sure as hell wasn't going to teach some resentful brat how to obey superiors! I had, er, an image to maintain! And, and, I had training to do! I'm certainly not dodging any responsibility and dumping it all on Absalom like usual.

"Say what! Moria-sama~" Absalom gave me a pitiful puppy dog look, and grabbed my ankles hoping I'd take pity on him.

"Once Absalom makes the determination that Kenji won't bungle up an operation, I'll _temporarily _return his shadow. Once he does enough missions and earns my trust, maybe I'll return it permanently."

"Let's go Absalom, we have more work to do." Kicking him off my feet, I once again headed towards the Frozen Block.

"Ooof, my head. How did she even get that kid down here in the first place without him melting in the sun?" Absalom groaned on the ground.

"Nyeh! His name's Kenji! We went through the passageways between the castle. Stupid lion! Horo horo horo!" Perona stuck her tongue out at Absalom and laughed.

"Why you!" Absalom reared up for a fight.

"Come along now Absalom, we've dallied long enough!" I shouted down the hallway.

Absalom leaned in close, so only Perona could hear him. "This isn't over brat, I'm in charge of your boytoy's training. I'm going to make his time with me hell, by the end of this, he'll respect me more than he ever loved you. And the best part is, there's nothing you can do to stop me, I heard some rumors that you promised Moria-sama to double your training. There's no getting out of this one." Wearing a wolfish grin, Absalom made his way to catch up to me.

"Coming Moria-sama!"

* * *

_Finally_! Between my meeting with Absalom and Doctor Hogback, the endless staircases, and the talk I had with Perona, it took damn near two hours to get to the Frozen Block. We need some sort of zombie powered pulley elevator installed, or I might as well fly everywhere. This castle is huge! Actually, now that I think about it, I could just send Doppleman somewhere, and teleport.

"You really are my most useful companion." Giving my shadow a loving smile, it was the fastest, strongest, and most versatile shadow I could manipulate. I'd be dead ten times over without Doppleman. My shadow had a weird pseudo intelligence that I could communicate with empathically. As a result, I could _feel _where my shadow was at all times. That meant he could be used as a scout, and I always knew when he was in the most ideal position for me to teleport with.

Come to think of it, I can _feel _all of the shadows nearby to a degree as well. I can even get a basic understanding of the environment around the shadow, similar to observation haki! The Frozen Block on the other side of this gate…I can sense the shadows of iron bars, hundreds of corpses, empty boxes, and a dozen other miscellaneous objects. I'm onto something here! Focusing on Absalom's shadow, I tried to get a feel for it.

"!" Astounding! By observing his shadow, I can tell Absalom is tired, likely from being overworked, and he's currently elated? How odd, I guess he just likes attention from his boss. I have to test this ability on more people! I'll call it…_shadow reading_. I wonder. Is this ability part of what it means to be the 'Ruler of Shadow's?! I entered a state of euphoria at this discovery. Like a xianxia cultivator, I felt like I was one small step closer to the next stage.

If there was one word to describe my current state of mind, it would be 'epiphany.' I was on cloud nine! I felt like I was on top of the world! I was-

"Ahh~ thank you for the praise Moria-sama, I never thought of myself as your most useful companion, but…I'll make sure to work even harder to do you proud! Right this way, sir, and I'll take you straight to our captive!" With a bounce in his step, Absalom moved towards the cell.

ABSALOM! My pupils dilated, and I made a constricting motion with my hands in his direction like I was about to throttle the life out of him. My epiphany! I was basking in the euphoria of my discovery, now gone! This I hadn't had this sense of epiphany since two weeks ago when I discovered my shadow armor. Hell, I'd say the discovery of shadow reading was an even greater epiphany than that. _Anyone _could cover themselves in the element of their devil fruit. However, learning that every single shadow was unique, and had its own story to tell. Now that, that is a discovery!

"He's over here Moria-sama!" Absalom once again broke me out of my reverie, signaling at a particular cell.

Taking deep breaths, I shook my head, and dispelled any murderous thoughts I had towards Absalom. I can practice this ability later, let's just get this over with.

"You prisoner Moria." Absalom pointed into the dark, dank cell.

"Gedatsu of Skypiea, I can see you're doing well. Now that some time has passed, will you reconsider my offer, and join my crew?" I leered down at the odd, tan man. His purple outfit was scuffed in a myriad of places, and his long dreads had grown dirty with grime.

"…" Gedatsu's mouth moved, but no sound came forth.

"I'll take that as a no then."

The money and taking over of the Ukkari Hot-Springs was nice, but that wasn't my objective at all. As soon as Absalom had sightings of this man, I beeline rushed to his position. The 'sixth sense' I had for the last two weeks was given by this man's shadow. He gave me the power of mantra, better known as observation haki. After the paramount war, my observation haki has fully unlocked, making this guy completely useless to me..hmm, when I read Absalom's shadow, it did say he was overworked…I almost laughed out loud. Oh Moria, how devilish!

"Absalom, since you've been such a loyal, hardworking subordinate of mine, I thought I'd reward you." I held back a giggle as I began to move towards him.

"Oh, that's not necessary Moria-sama, the joy of working for you is reward enough." Absalom blushed and waved his arms from side to side while backing away.

"It is entirely necessary! Here, take this!" Reaching into my body, I searched for, and pulled out Gedatsu's shadow.

Without pause, I shoved the shadow into Absalom.

*cough* *couch* "Moria-sama, what the fu-" Absalom began before I gave him the stink eye.

"Uhh, thanks for the 'reward' but what am I supposed to do with this?" Absalom for the umpteenth time looked around, utterly lost in confusion.

"This mans shadow has the skill known as Kenbun-shoku no Haki a.k.a. observation haki. You've been sailing with me for a long time, so I trust I don't need to go into the finer details of how this works. Suffice to say, this ability should make your infiltrations, assassinations, and sniping abilities soar."

"Th-thank you Moria-sama! With this…I'll be two, no five, NO! Ten times stronger! But uhh, one question, is it safe to have this guys shadow in me?" Absalom looked at his chest like Gedatsu's shadow would suddenly make Absalom act like a retard.

"The Rollerback Pirates managed to have one or two shadows occupy their body and had no problems. You should be fine unless you take some strong blow, knocking the shadow out of you. Make sure to train this ability as fast as possible. I'd like to use this shadow to teach Perona, and new prospects haki as well. While you're at it, resolve that issue with that Charlotte girl. Send her remaining crew off at a nearby island that we pass by, or whatever it is I promised her to get her to behave." I placed my hands behind my back, and wore a smirk. It just dawned upon Absalom that training his observation haki was more work piled on top of his already tight schedule.

"I won't have any more time for boobies weekly." Absalom whimpered to himself in dejection.

"Ki shi shi shi, chin up Absalom. You're doing your part to resurrect the Thriller Bark Pirate's! You'll do our nakama proud!"

"You know what, you're right Moria-sama!" A fire of passion began to shine in Absalom's eyes.

"Great! Now, while I scout out which body's I want to put these shadows in, I want you to set sail for the Goa Kingdom, Dawn Island. It's here in East Blue, so it shouldn't take us more than a week to get there. That place will be the beginning of the end."

* * *

**AN: No, Kenji isn't in love with Perona (yet?). Absalom is just being Absalom. **


	23. Chapter 23

"Alright Red, we're done here. Fetch me some celery, and meet me in the General Zombie's resting place." I rubbed my bloodshot eyes in irritation.

"Yes sir, in the Chapel, got it. Before I go, I wanted to inform you that there's an abandoned island in sight. I know it was one of the things you've been searching for. I know you want to train even more sir, but I'm concerned over your health…I have to ask sir. It's been three days since you've come to the Freezer Block, are you sure you're getting enough sleep."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm busy with work, now stop lollygagging around and get me my snack." I interrupted Red, and gestured for him to leave.

Placing the Impel Down prisoner's shadows into the corpses was a tiring affair. However, it was an extremely rewarding task. First, I went through the entire catalogue of corpses we stored in the Freezer Block. There were well over 5,000 options to choose from, but…more than half of the corpses were of weaklings. People who had never seen a day of combat in their life, ordinary farmers, fisherman and the like. Essentially village people. That's 2,500 cannon fodder corpses right off the bat. Furthermore, maybe around 1,000 were weird things like that tree zombie, spider rats, or the zombies who lurk in the mansion walls. Utterly useless in an offensive war.

Thankfully, there were some decent options. For one, about 500 deadly looking animals were in good condition. There were even 30~ animal hybrid monsters as tall as me, similar in strength to the spider monkey. Around 200 of the humanoid zombies were marked by Hogback as having advanced muscles. They were hulks that stood on average at around 2.13m. Leaving the remaining 770 corpses to be human animal hybrids. Some had tusks, animal heads, or animal ears. There was an endless permutation for the types of hybrids available.

I went through each and every one of these corpses meticulously and precisely. I could've easily stuck any shadow on me into a corpse, and walked away with a brand new zombie army within an hour. Instead, I spent an entire three days carefully selecting which shadow to put into which body. Pairing the right shadow, with the best body possible was like finding the best armor set in a videogame for your class. Some bodies better fit aggressive personalities, or those shadows skilled with martial arts needed a body with hands, or powerful legs to work. This was all thanks to _shadow reading_, and a catalogue I had that had a picture of all the zombies and listed their traits.

Right when I was about to leave, I noticed a corpse I had set to the side earlier on in my task.

"Oh yeah, this guy seemed kinda special. What did the catalogue say, something about being a martial artist?" The corpse was a green fishman, with fins going down his back, and a tusk sticking out of his head. He had the number 4,021 printed on his arm. Looking at the number, I flipped through the catalogue like I'd done a thousand times in the past few days, and found a short description.

Number 4,021. Before death, he was a member of the Sun Pirates. With a bounty worth 103,513,000 his moniker was 'Green Piece' and famous for launching acid from the webbing between his fingers. -Special Note, by Dr. Hogback- 'I've returned his ability to produce acid, Fos Fos Fos!'

A 100 mil bounty eh? I rubbed my chin. I quickly checked over the shadows I'd collected from Impel Down's Level 5. "Swordsman, no that won't do. A sniper? That's a rare talent, but still not what I'm looking for. This guy's a martial artist, but from the Long-Arm Tribe the style's all wrong! This one's a boxer, I suppose it'll do." After muttering to myself for a bit, I had finally found which shadow I wanted to place within Green Piece. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a squirming shadow.

"Ki shi shi shi, you've been with me for more than three days already. Surely you can feel the draw towards your monarch!" The shadow squirmed with a renewed vigor to escape my grasp, and return home.

"In order of importance, I command you to obey me without question! You are forbidden to do damage to me or mine willingly, or unwillingly unless instructed otherwise. You are to act as my perfect servant to the best of your ability. Follow Absalom's, Perona's, Hogback's and any new officer's commands in order of seniority. Now. Accept your place as zombie number 4,021 code name 'Green Piece." Saying the same line for the umpteenth time, I tossed the shadow into the corpse, and got back to business.

"What are your orders master?" Green Piece saluted.

My sleep deprived brain told me to snap at this guy for interrupting me. Fortunately, my rational side reminded me that this guy was Zombie General material. The only one out of the thousands of corpses in the Freezer Block, excluding Oars Jr. but that was a can of worms for another day.

"…follow me Green Piece, you're a named individual, so of course, you belong with the Zombie General's."

Sadly, I didn't have any legendary corpses to use this time. Green Piece was good, but he wasn't someone at the very top. With a bounty like 100mil, he was probably around a similar strength as Zoro or Luffy pre-time skip. Although bounty didn't always correlate with strength it was still a good indicator. Which was why I was on my way towards the Zombie General's resting place. I was going to replace my General's shadows with inmates from Level 5's shadows.

When I had been going through the Level 5 shadows, I had made some excellent discoveries. Even thinking about it now had me salivating. Any fugue I had because of a lack of sleep had instantly been broken.

"Ki shi shi shi, the inmates of Level 5 truly don't disappoint! Each and every one of them has a bounty over 100 million! Oh Sengoku, thank you! Thank you for this gift you've given me! If not for you, how would the Gorōsei ever allow me into Impel Down? Ki shi shi shi shi! Ki shi shi shi!" I punched the air a couple times in excitement. During my punching routine, a black sheen briefly appeared on my fist, splitting the air in two. My crew was going to be unstoppable!

'Why is he smiling like that? At least new boss never said I couldn't commit suicide.' Green Piece consoled himself as he followed to the side.

* * *

"Be glad Moria-sama granted your shadow back. Even if it's temporary, it's more than you deserve." Absalom carried a struggling Kenji by the scruff of his neck towards the gun range cum bootcamp.

"Let go of me! Or is it that you enjoy holding onto prepubescent boys. Virgin! Just like your obese bo-."

Hissing in revulsion, Absalom tossed Kenji onto the cobblestone path, and backhanded him across the face.

"Listen here boy, you may get away with that kind of sass when addressing me, worst I'll do is slap you around. But don't you ever. And I mean _ever _let me catch you disrespecting the Captain. Otherwise, you'll get more than a couple slaps upside the head. Understand me?"

Kenji sat on the ground, covered in dust. He wiped the blood off his lip, and stared murder at Absalom.

"I said, understand, _boy_?" Absalom narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms.

"Tch." Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Kenji stood and bowed.

"Hmph. It'll do for now; you won't be so mutinous once Sergeant has been through with you. With his recent exploits, Moria-sama finally has a batch of soldier's worthy of being trained. You should treasure this experience. I know I will." Absalom smirked to himself.

"I am Gunnery Sergeant Omaida, and I will be your Senior Drill Instructor. From now on, you will only speak when spoken too. Your first and last words out of your mouth will be 'Sir!' Do you understand that!" A gravely voiced, lanky zombie paraded back and forth between a line of 50 incredibly well-defined zombies. The shortest of which was no less than 2 meters tall.

"That's your que. Captain said you can't even imagine earning your freedom until you've impressed me. Pass Sergeant's training, and I'll tell the big man upstairs about your performance. Now get!"

With a push to the back, Kenji was sent stumbling into the line of zombies.

"Why you!" One of the zombies Kenji had bumped into turned around, and pulled a dagger.

"Ah! A volunteer!" A lanky arm reached out, and judo tossed the zombie onto the ground.

"What's your name son." Sergeant helped the zombie up.

"I'm given the designation 3,222. But everyone just calls me Lumpy, on account of the lumps on my forehead." Lumpy answered with a smile.

"Whooo, Lumpy's gone an done it now!"

"Yeh yeh yeh, who would call themselves _Lumpy_?"

"Lumpy likes it hard!"

The lined-up zombies devolved into a rowdy crowd no better than a group of drunk frat boys. Hooting and hollering at his expense.

"Lumpy huh? Do you know your first mistake, Lumpy?" Quick as a whip, Sergeant's no-nonsense voice silenced everyone present.

"Uhh, nope?" Lumpy scratched his head in confusion.

"Your first mistake is that when talking to me, you failed to begin every sentence with 'Sir" Sergeant drew his sword, and smoothly decapitated Lumpy.

"And your second is that you didn't end it with 'Sir!" Sergeant flicked his sword, and sheathed the blade.

"If you survive my training, you will leave this island a weapon. Each and every one of you will be a precision tool, boring your way into the enemy. But until then, you're worth less than the shadow's animating you. You may think that because you're special zombies, you won't be expendable. As Lumpy has just demonstrated, you'll soon find out just how expendable all of you really are! Do you understand that?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Bullshit! I can't hear you."

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"Lumpy, may his soul rest in peace has taught us all a valuable experience. First lesson worm food! Remember this saying, Light is Alright. As the undead, we can keep moving as long as we have our shadow's. Leg's and Arm's can be removed, and we can keep battling. Our spirit is kept in our torso, lose that, and you're dead! Our heads keep the spirit grounded to the earth, lose that, and you're dead! Do you understand that?!"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"All we have to do is shout? All this zombie stuff doesn't really apply to me. Kuru kuru kuru, this will be easier than washing grandad's back in winter!" Kenji whispered to himself in glee at the easy pass.

"Who said that? Who the fuck said that?! Who's the slimy little revolutionary shit, cross eyed sister fucker who just signed his own death warrant?!" Sergeant raged at the group of stunned zombies.

"…."

"No talker's?"

"Was it you, you fishman smelling fuck?" Sergeant gripped a walrus tusked zombie.

"S-Sir, no, sir!" Walrus Tusk trembled in fear, the fish stink emanating from his body grew twice as thick.

"…Sir, I did it, sir!" After some hesitation, Kenji stepped forward, determination in his eye.

"Well, no shit! You look like a blade of grass, all these men here are no shorter than 2 meters. You don't even come up to their chest! What have we got here, a fucking momma's boy!? Private Virgin? I admire your honesty. Hell, I like you. You can come over to the Castle Mast, and fuck Perona."

"Sir, I take full responsi-" Kenji got halfway through his statement before he was sucker punched in the stomach. Falling to his knees, Kenji let out this morning's breakfast all over the floor.

"You little scumbag! I've got your name! I've got your ass! You will not laugh; you will not cry! You will learn by the numbers. I will teach you. Now get up! Get on your feet! You had best unfuck yourself, or I will never let you get a good night's sleep for the rest of your life! Do you understand that?!"

"Sir, yes SIR!" Kenji unsteadily got up off his knees, and shouted at Sergeant.

* * *

"Ooooo, that Omaida drives me crazy! If it wasn't on Moria-sama's order, I'd have given him a piece of my mind! How dare he treat Kenji that way!" During a break in her training, Perona observed Kenji with one of her hollow ghosts.

"It's for the best Perona-sama. The boy lacks discipline, he's only what, 16? You're 23 already, and you don't have the same problem. You're quite mature for your age." Kumashi the giant stuffed bear interjected.

"…."

"Come to think of it, it's kind of creepy that a grown woman like you is spying on a prepubescent boy during your free time, if you ask me-"

"Kumashi."

"Yes Perona-sama?"

"…." With her face shadowed over by long pink hair, Perona growled at Kumashi.

"Ah, I've said to much."

"KUMASHI!"

Soon after, the sound of explosions could be heard all throughout the forest.

"Ah, how come I have to watch over her training? Where's Red when you need him?" Yellow stood timidly to the side as Perona brought destruction and wrath to the landscape.

"Perona-sama, stop that this instant, master has summoned the officers to the throne room, he has something he wishes you to witness!" Flying in on the back of a zombie that had the face of a pig, and the body of an eagle, Red commanded Perona.

"Nyeh, I'll do what I want, you can't tell me what to do!" Perona stuck out her tongue, and pulled down her eyelid in protest.

"You know the chain of command. I'm just following Moria-sama's orders. Besides, I'll tell master you're slacking in training if you don't come with. Yellow will back me up, won't you Yellow?"

"Uhh. Uh, right!" Yellow nodded along.

"It's settled then!"

"Hmph! I'm only going with you cuz I feel like it. Let's go Kumashi!"

"Heh heh, thanks for the save Red." Kumashi waved, and ran after Perona.

* * *

"Ki shi shi shi, welcome Perona, we've long been waiting for your arrival. If you kept us waiting any longer, why I'd think you loved training so much, I was going to triple it! Isn't that right gentleman?" I wore a smirk as I eyed Absalom and Hogback.

"Fos fos fos, you're all skin and bones Perona, let me replace your muscle's and tendon's!" Hogback took out a tape measurer, and measured Perona's arm length much to her discomfort.

"She'd fit right in with her boytoy at bootcamp, that's what I'd say Moria-sama!" Absalom joined in on the fun.

"Sorry for being late Moria-sama, it won't happen again." Perona nodded in my direction.

"You get a free pass this time. In any case, on to why I summoned you all on such short notice. The new General Zombies were a riley bunch this time around. After learning about their bodies past legend, quite a few had thoughts of rebellion." I paused and glared at the Zombie General's gathered before me. Of the 40 or so General ZOmbie's I had replaced, Captain John, the silver knight, and the man with the fu manchu mustache were especially difficult to deal with. Resting within them were the absolute strongest shadows I had at my disposal.

Strong wills from the fifth level of Impel Down, combined with the corpses of legendary warriors was a combination made in heaven when it came to making undying warriors. However, even with my devil fruit, it was hard to suppress their overwhelming wills.

"In order to placate their revolutionary desires, I've decided to showcase my might before the masses." I explained before my crew.

"You damn zombie's can't see Moria-sama's greatness? Captain, you should just ditch these guys. They'll be worthless for the Thriller Bark Pirate's." Absalom complained.

"Word's are for the weak. Take my sword!" Fu Manchu rushed towards Absalom, his rhinoceros legs thundered at great speed, and the light shown a golden glow off the reflection of his bronze armor.

"Can't hit what you can't see!" Absalom jeered.

Absalom preceded to shoot at Fu Manchu with a handgun from all sorts of angels.

"Parlor tricks!" Fu Manchu swiped his giant sword to his left at great speed.

With my ability to feel the presence of all shadow's, and observation haki, I knew Absalom was about to be struck. In response to the oncoming danger, I quickly set-up a barrier.

_Clang!_

In between seemingly empty air and Fu Manchu's sword, I had erected a 5 meter thick wall of shadow. Fu Manchu sliced through it near seamlessly, but it was enough time for Absalom to dodge.

"Hmph" Fu Manchu snorted. Sheathing his blade, he gave me a look of disrespect and turned to look to the side.

"I would've had him Moria-sama, let me go one more round with him. I didn't use my haki properly. I'll get him this time!" Absalom rolled up his sleeves, prepared for round two.

"Enough Absalom."

"But Moria-sama!"

"Enough!" I glowered at Absalom until he looked down in submission. Satisfied with my act of dominance, I wore a smirk. It was time to earn this powerful group of zombies loyalty.

"So, how exactly are you going to 'demonstrate your _might _before the masses' oh great one?" Captain John wore a mocking smile as he took a swig of wine. Liquid spilling out of his exposed ribs.

"…" Silver Knight gripped his axe harder.

"There." I pointed outward towards the sea.

"Going to amaze us and make a big splash in the water?" John's tone of voice oozed sarcasm.

"Red, tell them."

"Yes, Moria-sama! Ahead of us is a mostly uninhabited island, known as Rock Fire Island. It's circumference is similar to that of our ship, coming in at around 23km~"

"So you're going to what, sink an island? Neat." John put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the railing.

"But Moria-sama, you're not going to use Shadow's Asgard are you? You worked to hard to get all these shadows! The zombies _may _be _somewhat _impressive, but it's not worth using up your stock just to impress some nobodies!" Absalom cautioned.

"I appreciate the concern Absalom. But. Ki shi shi shi, you'll be in for a surprise. Watch, as I demonstrate my might before the masses." At that, I gave a cheeky smirk towards John, and jumped out the window.

Within a minute, I'd flown myself above the island. Raising both of my hands in a theatrical fashion, I began to concentrate. If I was a Saiyan, I'd be shouting HAAAAAAAHHH to charge my attack. In reality, as a shape manipulator, I had to put my mental concentration to the maximum. Imagining the mental image, and making it a reality. For the task at hand, if there was any one thought I was thinking, it would be _**more**_.

Before me, a rectangle of shadow began to take shape. **More. **The rectangle underwent a quantitative change, and more than doubled in length, covering the circumference of the island.. **More!** The rectangle became thicker, and raised in height. **MORE! **The shadow grew and grew, until the entire island, and some of the surrounding sea was completely blocked off from the sun.

"Hah, hah." Panting from the mental excursion, I began to direct the massive shadow I had willed into creation over the last five minutes. Not a second after I had regained my bearings, it had begun. Falling upon Rock Fire Island was a rainstorm of shadow. At first, it was large blobs moving at incredible speeds, tearing the earth asunder. Then, smaller, skinnier javelins moved at even faster speeds, piercing deep into the earth's crust.

* * *

"Not so impressive." Fu Manchu crossed his arms.

"Ja ja ja, you don't know what's what mustache man." John placed his hands behind the back of his head, keeping up a mocking smile.

"…." Silver Knight gripped his axe even harder.

"With this, no one can doubt the power of the Thriller Bark Pirates. You guys. You'll defiantly be avenged!" Absalom beamed in joy as a tear slid down his cheek.

"Master is strong. You know he dotes on you Perona, you-" Kumashi patted Perona on the shoulder, only to be interrupted.

"I'll support him in my own way!" Perona clenched her fists in renewed determination.

All across Thriller Bark Island, zombies stopped what they were doing to see the far off destruction.

"Hazzah to the future Pirate King!"

"Moria-sama number one!"

"No, Ryuma number one!" A zombie whipped out a foam finger in protest, starting a brawl with the surrounding zombies.

Cold sweat fell down Kenji's back at the sight of Moria's overwhelming power. "I wanted to fight that, that _monster_, and save grandpa and everyone else? Grandad, Priest...Kami, what do I do!?"

"Well kiss my lily white ass goodbye! Did I say you lot were expendable? After this, the chief will think you're twice as expendable! You'll have to work twice as hard if you don't want to end up as the first wave of canon fodder upon the beaches. Move it, move it! Double time you shit lickers!" Sergeant ran in tandem with his new recruits.

* * *

Within five minutes, the entire island was left a smoldering ruin. Surprisingly, I could get a general sense of how the island was…feeling? Due to _shadow reading_? Like a terminally ill 90 year old, the island was crying out, gasping for its final, last desperate breaths. For a moment, I felt bad, but then I looked back at my base, and thought about that Fu Manchu mustache bastard.

"Fuck it, it's just an island. Time for the grand finale!"

Less than a quarter of my rectangle remained, like a near empty magazine of a gun, the rectangle had spent most of its energy. In fact, the shape could best be described as a gelatinous blob. However, it would be enough to suit my purposes. Raising my arms high into the sky once more, I began to direct my shadow. Sluggishly at first, the blob began to condense until it became the size of a carnival cruise ship.

"Let's try this then, it's a classic." With a smirk, the blob took the shape of an incredibly large javelin. My shadows already moved at impossible speeds, now to add the rotation. Less then a minute later, my cruise shaped javelin was spinning so fast, it put every man made centrifuge to shame. Barely able to control the spinning weapon of mass destruction, I set it loose upon the center of the island.

A second later, the entire island cracked, and crumbled to pieces. It was as if an island never existed there to begin with.

"Ja ja ja, I don't know about you, mustache, but I'm going to start calling _him _Moria-sama from now on." John put his hands back into his pockets and walked away.

"Hn." Silver Knight nodded, and walked out after John.

"Tch." Fu Manchu spit to the side, nodded, and followed after them.

* * *

**The Holy Land, Mary Geoise**

"Elders, Elder's!" A breathless Rear-Admiral holding a report burst into the office of the Gorōsei.

"What is it this time Admiral." Black Hat demanded.

"Hah, hah. Here is the report, honorable Elder's!" The Marine bowed, and handed over the report, before bowing and leaving the room.

"Trouble in Paradise?" Glasses questioned, ruffling his gi in the process.

"It appears a menace from the past has once again brought trouble to the Blue's." Black Hat said solemnly, passing the document over.

"So it's _his _old enemy. This will be a perfect debut." Long Hair stroked his mustache.

"Don't be so hasty, this man threatens the whole world. We should plan an ambush on him. For all his power, he never was all that bright." Bald's boisterous voice shouted out.

"Agreed." Four of the elders came to a consensus much to Long Hair's consternation.

"Hm. Regardless of the outcome, the World shall once more know pain." Long Hair wore a stern expression as he stared aimlessly at a globe of the planet.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading. Go on google maps, and right click to measure distance from your house, and then go out to measure 23 kilometers to get a true perspective of how large Thriller Bark Island is. That's 14~ miles in circumference. I chose this size, because it's roughly the size of my city. **


	24. Chapter 24

"It's been a while since we've all been together like this." Sitting at Hogback's dining table, I casually ate slices of an orange while addressing my crew.

"It's good to have you back Captain. By the way, I received word by den den mushi that the ships you looted from Marineford will arrive later today." Filing through a stack of papers, Absalom gave me a curt nod before muttering about supply and demand, liabilities, and leverage?

"Yes, yes! We're all happy to be here Moria-sama! Why, Cindry-chan and I were getting busy, I mean, we were _very _busy these last few days accomplishing your task. You'll be happy to know that with Cindry-chans eye for beauty, and my sewing skills, we have dozens of outfits all prepared. I took pictures, and put them in another catalogue! Cindry-chan has a talent with photography, why just the other week, she took pictures of my-"

"Excellent work Dr. Hogback! I'll trust Cindry's fashion sense. Make about a hundred copies of that catalogue. We can sell specialty, limited edition clothes to the wealthy using that catalogue, and mass produce common clothing attire to the working class. Of course, this all hinges on the factory being built in the first place. Absalom, do you have an update for me?"

"Just a second Moria-sama. This will take a moment to set-up." Absalom began setting up a chart, and pulling numerous poster boards out of a stack.

At this time, I spotted a glum Perona sitting at the corner of the table. She was slowly twirling her spoon, and playing with the likely cold porridge in her bowl.

"Perona, Red tells me you've made remarkable progress in your training. That you can actively control more than a dozen ghosts, and can now comfortably scout the whole island without losing concentration. This is an achievement worthy of celebration!" I showed my approval by grinning and nodding in Perona's direction.

"…I guess." Perona continued to slowly stir her spoon in the porridge bowl.

Is this the dreaded teenage angst? My God. I never had a sister or daughter, so I've only seen other men suffer this from afar! Countless thoughts ran through my mind as to what the cause for this angst could be: 'that time of the month' 'bitchy schoolmates' boy trouble.'

"Boy trouble…" I narrowed my eyes in consternation. Perona did just acquire that new servant kid. What did she call him, Ken something? Why didn't I see it before! It was so obvious! Some dirty boy washes up on our island, and woo's the ice princess with his endless determination, and happy go lucky personality! He even has a shounen protagonist name! Kenshi, Kenichi, Kenpachi, Kentomaru. Or just straight up Ken!

"M-Moria-sama, uh, you're absolutely right! It is something worth celebrating, no need to get mad!" A concerned Perona called out to me. Her voice was small, as if she spoke any louder, some alarm would trigger, and all mayhem would be unleashed.

Looking about the room, everyone was staring at me with expressions of caution. Even Absalom had taken a small step back. What, did I have something on my face? Then my eye caught my portion of the table.

"When did I?" Holding up a piece of wood, I noticed that the section of table closest to me was completely shattered. Not only that, but similar to a fighter from DBZ when they have their ki surround them, shadows were rippling and roiling around me fiercely. Like a coiled dragon, they were ready to explode outward into action.

"Ahem." Coughing to the side, I released the shadow aura, and tossed the wood to the side.

"That's correct Perona, when the plunder arrives from my battle at Marineford, you'll be given a ship and crew to do with as you please."

After a moments pause, my crew responded to my change in attitude.

"A mighty reward, and a show of further responsibility to come. You've earned it Perona, don't let down Captain's expectations." Absalom gave an entirely serious nod in Perona's direction.

"Fos Fos Fos, when your new crew arrives, I'll work day and night to perfect them! Not even Cindry-chan can distract me from this! Come Cindry-chan, we have to release all of today's stress before we get to work!" Hogback reached out for Cindry's hand, and contrary to expectations, she dragged him off in a hurry to parts unknown.

"If it wasn't with a corpse, he'd be the luckiest bastard in the sea." Absalom muttered to the side.

"I won't misplace this trust you've granted me Moria-sama!" Perona stood and bowed in my direction. Her ears were steaming scarlet in embarrassment, from what, I couldn't say. The red ears of embarrassment were contrasted with a face filled with pride and satisfaction.

"Good, good!" I clapped my hands in excitement, donning an eager smile. Now no more angst please Perona, it's bad for my liver!

"I've been thinking, Perona. You ate the hollow-hollow fruit. When you leave your body in an astral state, you're essentially making your body hollow. Since you're a paramecia, could you push someone's spirit out of their body, and make them hollow? Would your spirit then be able to posses their body? Or maybe one of your little ghost hollows would be able to do that?" I shared some of my theories about power use with the room.

"Mhm." Perona nodded sweetly, but her lack of enthusiasm didn't escape me. Ah, teenagers.

"Consider today as a rest day, and feel free to think about my little theories. We'll have you test them out on some of our prisoners in the coming days. Perhaps you can recruit those two I had set my eyes on, the pirate El Drago, and the mercenary Golas. I know you must feel cooped up on this musty island doing nothing but training. In any event, I've blathered on long enough, you're excused."

"Horo horo horo! Thanks, Moria-sama!" Perona bowed once more, gave a shallow nod in Absalom's direction, and bolted out of the room with a whoop.

Sharing a knowing smirk with Absalom, I nestled myself deep into my seat, and prepared for a long conversation about finances.

"Down to business then." Losing my smile, I diverted all of my attention towards Absalom, and the charts he had set up. Let's see just how much this factory was going to cost me.

* * *

"In conclusion Moria-sama, the three most viable options are buying the parts from the Underworld faction Germa 66, the Marine core of engineers, or the technologically advanced island of Karakuri."

I rubbed my head in consternation. For the past two hours, Absalom and I have been doing nothing but going over financial reports, accounts payable, and all sorts of company jargon I barely had a passing understanding about. How I wish I had a calculator.

"List one more time the advantages, disadvantages, and pricing we would face when choosing which supplier to buy from."

"Of course Captain. Of the three most viable options, the Germa 66 offers the speediest production and could build a factory in less than a week. At the same time, since the island of Karakuri holds the patent for factory production, the Germa 66 is charging a 'protection fee.' They claim it's to protect themselves in case they need to bribe some government official. The total price amounts to 100,000,000 beri's.

Our second choice is to go through the Marine core of engineers. As a Royal Shichibukai, and official member of the World Government, you can bypass the civilian route, and directly assemble a factory. However, I wouldn't put it past those Marine dogs to deliberately sabotage some of the factory, or move slow on purpose. I estimate it to take 6 to 24 months for them to complete the job. The only bonus is that since you're a member of the government, you have a grand discount. We'd only have to pay for the labor, approximately 10,000,000 beri's.

Finally, famous Marine scientist Vegapunk's homeland, Karakuri Island holds the patent for factory assembly, and is the retailer of choice for 90% of the worlds kingdoms when it comes to factory construction. They hold a solid reputation for building things to last. I estimate their construction time to take between 3 and 5 months. At a price of about 40 to 50 million beri's. The foreman from the other end said that costs are variable depending on transportation costs, hence the potential extra 10 million price hike."

I had long been drumming my fingers on my chairs armrest by the time Absalom finished with his explanation. The financial situation I found myself in wasn't dire quite yet, however, it all hinged on how much money I could extort from a kingdom.

"For now, let's put a moratorium on which option to choose from. One of the vessels I seized is a Marine battleship. I need you to find any zombies in our ranks proficient in carpentry and painting. We need to make that ship as indistinguishable from a Marine battleship as possible."

If I had a way to store the battleship, I'd keep it hidden in some storehouse, or a cove somewhere instead of repainting it. The ship will become a great arsenal in any future battles for sure. However, a tiny part of me wanted to use the Marine uniforms and crest to stage a false flag operation. The trouble was, I had no clue on which target to attack, and no place to store a Marine battleship. Essentially, I'd be able to use it once, then discard it. After all the effort I put into seizing the ship, this was something I was unwilling to do.

"A Marine battleship!" Absalom spluttered in surprise.

"If we don't have the manpower needed for this task, I'll need you to contact the Underworld and have them do the job." Rubbing my forehead once more at the potential loss of money, I swear I'd form a kidney stone at this point from all the pressure I'd been facing. You know your situation is damned when you're not worried about blood thirsty pirates, but debt to the system.

"Right away sir, I'll keep my eyes peeled for any zombies skilled in carpentry and painting. By your leave."

"Dismissed." I waved him off in a slightly depressed mood.

Even in a world of literal super powers, money is still a powerful influencer. Hell, with enough money, you could buy devil fruits. With enough money, you could pay people to do shitty, undesirable jobs. Give them a small bit of freedom, the illusion of choice, and they'll praise you as enlightened. All the while, mocking the people of other nations and societies as being backwards, or barbaric.

"Cheh." This financial and philosophical nonsense is going to make my head explode. Who knew running a crew was so much hard work? On top of that, I'm sitting on my hands waiting for a windfall of cash to appear. Till then, I'm hesitant to take any big actions. Sailing anywhere on an island sized ship takes forever. At the very least, I can train, but most of the training I had in mind was very destructive. Not something I wanted to do on my homebase.

I rested my chin against my fist in utter boredom. Playing around and forming complex shapes with the shadows in the room. A painting imploded, as I manipulated its shadow into the form of a sphere.

"I've got it! Red! Red, get over here!"

"Ah uh, it's me Moria-sama! Red is uhh, helping Absalom-sama with some tasks." Yellow shyly entered the room.

"No matter. Inform Absalom I'm heading to Goa Kingdom on my own. Additionally, pass word to Perona that I want her to set sail tomorrow. She's responsible for recruiting those two. If she complains, tell her I'm proud of her recent attainments, and that I have full confidence in her. But between you and me, I want you to assign a few of the Zombie General's to act as bodyguards."

"Uh, ah, Goa Kingdom, err, recruit those two. Got it!" Yellow answered haltingly.

"…"

"…"

An awkward silence developed between us.

"Well get to it then Yellow!"

"Right. Right! Right away Moria-sama, sorry for the delay! I had seen people ignore you when you had more orders for them, and I was only waiting around to see if you had more orders for me. Have a pleasant journey sir!" Yellow bowed, and ran along.

Huh, well how about that. I'm not sold on Yellow's intelligence, but not even Red was that considerate. With that thought in mind, I grabbed a map and a compass, and set off for the relatively nearby Goa Kingdom.

* * *

"Alright you dirt munchers, time to learn you some knowledge! This right here is what is known as a trowel bayonet. One of the most important tools in your arsenal. A smart company can set up defensive positions, and ambushes with one of these, leaving the enemy none the wiser. Do you understand that?!"

"Sir! Gunnery Sergeant Omaida, isn't that a shovel? Sir!"

"A wise-ass huh? What's your name son?" Sergeant approached the zombie.

"Sir! Burns, sir!"

"You're goddamn shitting me! Burns? Let me guess, is it because of the burns you have across your body?! How creative! What sick joker, cosmic deity fuck saddled me with such simpletons! The Chief upstairs must be dying of laughter from the idiocy on full display at this training yard. The trowel bayonet doubles as a trench shovel. You'll be digging fox holes, trenches, tunnels and we're even going to dig shallow graves until you. Get. It. _Right_.

There are no slackers in my company, and boredom is no excuse! A zombie doesn't need air, he doesn't need food, and he doesn't need sleep. For the next week, these holes will be your home! You will eat, sleep, and breath dirt! Do you understand that?!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good! Since Burn's here is such a good team player, he's volunteered himself to dig 30 meters of trench all by himself. With his hands! A round of applause to Burn's for being such a team player!" Sergeant led the company of zombies into a thunderous applause.

They clapped. And they clapped…and clapped.

By the time Sergeant stopped clapping, the sun had already passed its zenith in the sky.

"Why shit on a cracker, what are you doing standing around for!?" Sergeant turned around from his clapping to face the crowd behind him with a look of faux surprise.

"Standing around Burn's for such a long time brings a tear to this old man's eye." With a sniffle, Sergeant wiped away a pussy yellow liquid dripping from his eye.

"You're _all _such great team players. As a reward, I'll allow you to join in with Burn's labor of love. I want you brothers in arms to dig 30 meters of trench for every zombie in the platoon. Since you numb nuts can't count, there's 50 of you, that's 1,500 meters of trench! Then, you have my blessing to use the trowel bayonet to dig another 20 meters of fox holes, trenches, tunnels, and maybe even a shallow grave. I expect the trench done by the end of the night, good luck boys!" Whistling a merry tune, Sergeant walked off to a bench, and pulled out this month's issue of Army Supplies Weekly.

Kenji stared ahead with a blank look on his face. He'd been clapping for the last two and a half hours without break. He'd trained his focus with Priest, Grandad taught him how to throw a punch, and the rest of the villagers had each pitched in with their own unique talents. But cheering nonstop for two hours…for a guy named Burn's no less?

"Maybe Grandad was right. Maybe I should've stayed home…" Dejected, Kenji kicked a pebble.

"Thanks a lot Burns!"

"Because of you, our training was doubled!"

"Fucking idiot, dorya!"

Venting the past two hours of torturous boredom, a group of zombies had surrounded Burns, and preceded to pummel him into the ground.

Kenji looked up at the noise of Burn's beating, and looked to the side to see if Omaida was going to do anything about it. To his dismay, Omaida continued to whistle, and read his magazine.

"Typical." Gripping his fists, Kenji began to get enraged by the injustice before him.

"Hey!" Kenji gripped one of the muscle-head's arms.

"Piss off!" The zombie tried to shake Kenji loose, but it was to no avail.

"I said _hey. _What's going on?"

"I said piss off! Guys, tell Private Virgin over here to beat it! Cuz that's all he'll ever be good for. Har har!" The zombie took a pause to laugh at his own joke.

"…" A wind swept silence was all that greeted the zombie.

"Tough crowd! Stupid brat, making me look bad in front of the fellas, dorya!" Throwing a right hook, the zombie aimed squarely at Kenji's face.

Grinning, Kenji let go at just the right rime to have the muscle-head overextend. Throwing out a cross-counter, the muscle-head was sent flying.

"And I said HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA!" Kenji grabbed another muscle-head's fist, and swung him in a 360 circle. After Kenji let go, he flew off into the horizon.

"I said hey! What's going on?" Kenji approached the now cowering last muscle-head who had been beating Burn's.

"I-it was all a big misunderstanding. Wasn't it Burn's?"

Burn's took a look at Kenji, then at the muscle-head, and shook his head in the negative. "And he prays."

A look of dawning realization appeared on the last muscle-head's face. "Oh my Kame do I pray!"

With a kick, Kenji punted the zombie into a row of trees, knocking them over. As he was sent flying, the zombie let out a gasp "Myah!"

"Well, well *cough* well. What have we here? Damage to the Chief's property, and a careless disregard for the integrity of the island. You're walking on thin ice Private Virgin."

"You..Sir, you _cannot be serious_! They were beating Burn's, I couldn't just stand back and do nothing. Sir."

"From what I saw, you deliberately caused mischief in the unit. Why would the men attack Burn's? He's the strongest link holding everyone together, a real _team-player._"

"Bullshit!" Kenji rushed to within a hairsbreadth of Sergeant, and stared him right in the eye. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he took long, deep breaths.

"So Private Virgin grew some balls! What a time to be alive, our little Virgin has gone and grown up! I think I'll start calling you Hero, on account of your amazing fuck up!"

"You're the fuck up Omaida!" Kenji's body became encased within a black protective mushroom armor as his fluctuation in emotions activated his power.

"I _told you _I've got your ass! You think the lass is the only one who knows about your little enclave? I've been digging holes for years _boy_. You're about to do what Hero's do best, and throw your life away as sacrifice. In the process, damning your family and loved ones to a long grueling life as wage slave's. It'd be a mercy if they earned a quick death. _Think_ boy. Think!"

Conflicted, Kenji didn't know what to do. His resolve at punishing Omaida had drastically wavered at the threat posed to his family.

"What's to stop me from killing you right here, right now? Your men were powerless to stop me."

"Ha! _You! _Kill _me_?! You should do stand-up kid, and here I thought just the zombie scraps the Chief sends me were retards. But you! There needs to be some sort of special education to produce them like you! What's it going to be you sword swallowing, pansy ass-fuck? Are you going to condemn your village to death, or are you a team player?"

Just as Kenji was going to come to a decision, cannon balls began to explode against the walls ringing the island.

"To me men! To me you shit licking whore-spawn!" Sergeant gathered a group to repel the invaders.

"Well don't just stand there slack jawed, this is your home too Hero!" Tossing a rifle to Kenji, Omaida jumped into a shallow trench, and covered himself in dirt.

* * *

"Are you sure we should be doing this Bellamy, to assault a Shichibukai's base. Isn't that ballsy, even for us? The gate even opened before we could attack them. Like they were expecting us." A silver haired, glasses wearing punk asked.

"Hah ha _hah!_ You worry too much Sarquiss! It's just as Doflamingo-sama said. Gecko Moria is the weakest of the Shichibukai, a stain on their name! And a stain on the Shichibukai's name, is a stain on Doflamingo-sama's name! If I come back with his head, he said I, we could join his crew! All our dreams will come true, everyone will stop talking about that Straw Hat, and turn their focus back on the real number one rookie! Besides, he's just a lowly snitch. And we all _know _what to do with snitches. RIGHT MEN?!"

"Oora!"

"Death to snitches!"

"Moria be snitchin, by the endo this, he'll be bitchin!"

"Hah ha hah, see Sarquiss, we have momentum on our side! Forward men! Dock at the section of broken wall! The first into that Castle Mast gets 500,000 beri!" Bellamy held his fist aloft, and wore an excited grin.

"If you say so…" Lips puckering up like there was a sour taste in his mouth, Sarquiss muttered to himself.

Disembarking the ship, about two hundred~ pirates surged onto the beach head.

"Ahh!"

"Shit, I broke my arm!"

Cries of shock, and pain permeated the air.

"An enemy attack?" Taking a closer look, Sarquiss spotted the problem. About a dozen men had fallen down a giant trench, and were a tangle of limbs.

"Someone grab the gangplanks from the ship, we'll use those to cross the trench!" Sarquiss gave the command.

"Captain, help us out here!" The trapped pirates cried out for assistance.

"Hmph, I have no place for weaklings in my crew. Either climb out yourselves, or stay down there forever, I don't care!" Forming springs in his legs, Bellamy crossed the distance without any problems.

"Bark! Bark!" Fearsome snarls, and growls became louder and louder towards Bellamy's position. Until eventually, a Cerberus approached, charging at Bellamy, going full tilt.

"Woah, it's a giant mutt!"

"You got this Captain!"

"Spring~PISTON!" Cranking the springs in his legs, Bellamy launched himself at the dog. A minute later, the Cerberus had been pummeled into the ground. Bellamy's fist had gone clean through the digs center, crumpling its chest. With the shadow released, the zombie had one completely inert.

"Now get those gangplanks over here!" Grinning to the crowd of his cheering men, Bellamy bounced in place with growing excitement.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all." Sarquiss reassured himself.

* * *

"Omaida! Omaida you bastard, get out of that hole right now! We're not finished!" Kenji tore into the dirt fruitlessly. No matter how much he dug, he couldn't find the Gunnery Sergeant. Jumping out of the hole he dug, he was shocked to see the platoon of zombies ringing him.

"What do you want, here to fight me in Omaida's stead?" Kenji barred his teeth ready for a fight.

"No Kenji, we need a leader." Burns stood out from the crowd and approached Kenji.

"So go get Perona, or that Lion face." Kenji scrunched up his face.

"The enemy will be here in a minute, maybe two. There's no time." Burn's placed a hand on Kenji's shoulder.

"No, no no no no, no! I will not fight for that big bastard! Besides, why do you want _me _of all people to lead you guys?" Kenji shook his head violently, and formed a cross with his arms.

"It's because you're the strongest! This is our home, and we heard Sergeant…this is your home too! Didn't Moria-sama promise you your shadow back on a permanent basis if you performed well? You can still live a full life. If not for the big man upstairs, then do it for us, your nakama...If that's not enough, do it for that family of yours!" Burn's made one last plea.

"I..." Seeing all the hopeful looks being thrown his way, Kenji had made his decision.

"I want you to hold this position with everything you've got! Do you worm food want to live forever?!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"…"

"Kame. What do I say to that. In all the war stories Grandad told me, all the men are supposed to bravely shout, and become fearless in the face of death." Kenji scratched his cheek, lost on what to say next.

"Here they come! What are your orders, sir!" Burn's pointed toward a ragtag unit climbing up the hill. The pirates raised swords and guns, hooting and hollering towards the trench.

"Shoot them till they get within a few meters of the trench. Then on my signal, we charge." Kenji took aim with his rifle, and put his sights square on the chest of a pirate. His arms shook, and his throat became dry. He'd never taken a human life before.

All around Kenji, the zombies unloaded their guns. More than two dozen pirates fell, either wounded or dead. Just like that, the pirates were upon them.

"Green Mushroom Series: Canon!" Summoning his mushroom RPG, Kenji fired multiple rounds into the crowd. The concussive blasts knocked a dozen out cold. One unlucky pirate took a direct hit, and lost an arm.

"That's the signal, charge!" Assuming the black mushroom armored form, Kenji vaulted the trench, and joined the melee.

Fierce fighting took place as the 50 musclebound zombies plowed into the pirates. Each zombie easily fought off 3 men. In some cases, the zombies were stabbed, bludgeoned, and riddled with bullets but they kept fighting. One zombie purposely took a sword to the chest so he could kill his opponent.

"Double spring nightmare!" A double fist attack plowed into a group of zombies, sending six of them bowling. A follow up fist combination crushed a zombie's head.

"Aim for the head, that's their weak point!" Bellamy began to bounce around, crippling zombies left and right. Occasionally, he'd land a lucky shot, and crush another head.

"Easier said than done! I can't even take one on by myself!" Sarquiss ganged up on a zombie with three other men, and barely decapitated a single zombie. They may hold the numerical advantage, but each of these zombies was taller, and stronger than any one man here!

"Hah ha _hah_! It must be that guy in black who's controlling these zombies. If I take him out, I'll be one step closer to that fake Shichibukai." Bellamy oozed self confidence as he rocketed towards Kenji.

"You, spring guy! Leave this island, and leave my nakama alone! I really don't want to do this, but if you leave now, you might still be spared." Kenji pointed at Bellamy, trying to sincerely warn him off the island. Being a servant under that monster was a fate worse than death in Kenji's opinion. If he didn't have a family to worry about, he'd…

"Don't try to scare me off punk! You're all one big stepping stone on my quest for glory! Doflamingo-sama, wait for me!" Bellamy dashed forward even faster, and struck Kenji, sending him flying.

"Woo, that armor stings. Gotta go fast if I want to break it apart." Bellamy waved his hand side to side in an attempt to dissipate the pain.

"Ugh." Shaking his head, Kenji was trying to make heads or tails of what just happened.

Without any time to rest, Kenji was hit again, and again. Bellamy ruthlessly struck him in the same place, eventually stripping the armor, and striking the soft flesh underneath.

"Kuh" Spitting out a mouthful of blood, a bedraggled Kenji lay in a heap. While he lay there, catching his breath, Bellamy began to go on a rampage. Striking left and right, from above, and below, he bounced across the battlefield, killing and crippling zombies left and right.

"Stop it." Kenji called out.

"What's wrong? You called these overgrown corpses your nakama? How utterly pathetic! Trash like you has no place in the New Era! The Age of Dreams is over!" Grinning, Bellamy began to focus on breaking arms and legs. The zombies began to crawl like a worm, trying to bite the pirates, much to his amusement.

"Stop it." Kenji struggled to his knees. He took ragged breaths, trying to regain his focus.

"Look at him, trying to stand up for these soulless bags of bones. Hah ha _hah_!" Bellamy stopped fighting, and grabbed his sides as he fell over laughing.

"Stupid, this is the age of pirates, grow up!"

"There's no time to worry about them kid, you've got bigger things on your plate!"

"Ha hah ha ha, look at him, he's ready to cry! Do you want you milk bottle? Waa, waa, I want my mommy, waa!"

Bellamy's crew joined him in laughing and jeering at Kenji.

"I SAID STOP IT! Grandad made me promise never to use this…I'm sorry Grandad, I have to do this! If I can't save you, I at least have to save these guys." After a moment of hesitation, Kenji spawned a mushroom the size of an apple.

"RED MUSHROOM SERIES: BERSERKER!"

"Just the ravings of a sad lunatic. Men, put him out of his misery." Bellamy turned to attack the remaining zombies, when 6 of his men were flung past him.

"What-" Was as far as Bellamy got before his spring arm was grabbed, and he felt a sudden vertigo.

Kenji's body was dyed a deep red, his normal short, skinny body had transformed into a 4 meter tall hulk with two glowing mushroom antennae growing out of his head.

"Here we go!" Grasping Bellamy's springy arm, Kenji swung him in a circle at intense speeds. Once he had perfect momentum, Kenji slammed Bellamy into a group of pirates. Several pirates took pot shots at Kenji, trying to save their captain, but he dodged them with ease. Repeating the process another five times, Kenji effectively used Bellamy's sling like body as a weapon against the pirates.

"Raagh!" Kenji shouted in rage, and pounded his chest like a gorilla.

"Easy now Kenji, it's me, Burn's." Burn's held up his hands placatingly.

"Bur-Burn's?" Kenji saw nothing but a fog of red. For a moment however, he saw that he wasn't holding the spring man anymore, he was holding Burn's by the neck!

With a gasp, Kenji released Burn's, and gripped his head. After a moment, Kenji reverted to his teenage body, and fell to the floor. The accumulated injuries, and stress of the berserk form had taken a major toll on his body.

"Haah. Haah. Haah. You. You defeated. My. My whole crew. I, you're going to pay. With your life." A bloody, and unrecognizable Bellamy dragged himself across the ground towards Kenji, dagger in hand.

"Haah, haah, Burn's! Burn's, anyone?!" Kenji called out for help. Looking around desperately, Kenji spotted a shiny glint out of the corner of his eye.

"Hah ha _hah_! No. No, help for you. You. You're abandoned. Die!" Bellamy's arm snaked out to stab Kenji.

*shink*

"Why Grandad, I. I never wanted this." Crying, Kenji let the days tension out of his worn out body as he fell on Bellamy's corpse. A broken cutlass plunged deep into Bellamy's chest was all that separated the two. Blood soaked into Kenji's clothes as he gave in to fatigue.

"Three cheers for Private Hero!" An all to familiar voice shouted in the clearing.

"Hero! Hero! Hero!"

"You did it Hero!"

"This one's on you Hero! That guy is sure to make a great special zombie!"

A gang of cut up zombies surrounded Kenji, and hoisted him on their shoulders.

The last thing Kenji saw before he lost consciousness was Omaida's shadowed smiling face.

* * *

Flying in what felt like circles, I had spent more than 4 hours traversing the East Blue in search of the Goa Kingdom. I must be hopelessly lost. Ah! A fishing boat, maybe that old man and kid know how to get to the Goa Kingdom!

"Hey old man-"

"Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo! Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo! Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo!"

At my sudden appearance, the old man fell to the deck, and began to point at me in fear.

"Hey kid, know how I can get to the Goa Kingdom from here?" I bent over to get a better look at the tiny little snot.

Picking his nose, the kid shook his head negatively.

"You sure? I have here this…pistol. If you know the way, it's yours." I was going to offer the kid candy as a bribe, but then I realized, why would I even be carrying candy around with me? All I had in my pockets were a pair of pistols, a couple zombie spy rats, some loose bills, a few hundred shadows, and some celery to snack on.

"Mn, deal! Grampa and I just set out, it's like, 10 minutes with the wind to your back in that direction" The kid pointed in a direction, and took my gun off my hands.

"Thanks kid." I thought about getting angry at the kid. He just fleeced me of a gun! But the elation at finally finding my objective overrode any irritation I had. I rubbed my hands in anticipation of all the money I was about to make. I was no Nami, I didn't have a gold fetish, but no one enjoyed being broke. After this, I'll never have to worry about paying my tithe ever again. Goa Kingdom, here I come!

"Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo! Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo! Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo-Mo! GECKO MORIA!"

* * *

**AN: This chapter is pretty Kenji heavy; he won't get the limelight any more than Perona or Hogback now that I've fully established him. More Moria to come. RIP Dragon Ball Z Abridged. **


	25. Chapter 25

After receiving directions from the kid earlier, I finally arrived at my destination in the late afternoon. Reaching into one of my voluminous pockets, I pulled out five zombified rats.

"Search for any information about any notable pirates, Marine's, mercenary's, and bounty hunters. If you find anything noteworthy, report back to me. I'll be at this town's castle. Now go!" Giving my rats their orders, I tossed them onto the street, and moved forward.

I began my stroll from the Goa Kingdoms harbor, heading towards the central castle. Along the outskirts, I noticed many dilapidated buildings. The average citizen's clothes were threadbare, or lacked color. Was this true only for the boondocks, or was the poverty stricken image mirrored across the town?

People stopped what they were doing and stared as I passed them by. Like Moses parting the Red Sea, the townspeople scattered to get out of my way. Some rushed into their houses, closing their shutters tight. Others stood silent, mouth agape. A small minority muttered to themselves as I passed by.

"Gecko Moria."

"Shichibukai."

"Government dog."

"Warlord of the sea's Moria."

During my journey through town, a woman, and a little girl blocked my path.

"Mommy, mommy!" The little girl tried to support her mother to the side of the road. However, she couldn't support her mother's weight, and both of them fell down.

Upon closer examination, the woman's legs were bent and crooked. A curious smile appeared on my face.

"Hello there." I approached the two. My towering form completely blocked out their view of the sun as I stood less than two meters away.

"Alexis, run." The women feebly attempted to push the girl away.

"Mommy, no! I won't let the bad man hurt you!" The girl stood before me, and looked me in the eye.

"You misunderstand." I began, only to be interrupted by an orange thrown at me. Before it collided with my body, Doppleman reached out, caught it, and began juggling with a goofy grin on his face.

Turning towards the one who threw the orange, I saw it was a little green haired urchin boy. I slowly, very slowly, to the point of exaggeration pulled my last pistol out. With a grin on my face, I pointed it at the boy with extreme casualness. He wetted his eyes, and soiled himself. The people around us clung to the walls of buildings for support. Several women clung to their hearts as seconds ticked by.

_Katcha_

The sound of my gun was louder than usual. The noise echoed off the closely packed buildings. A woman couldn't handle the tension, and screamed before passing out.

"That one's free." I smirked, and pocketed my gun, turning back to the women and girl before me.

Between the boy's legs, a small indent could be seen where the cobblestone path had been broken apart. Nestled a couple centimeters in the ground rested a bullet. Knees buckling in fear or relief, the boy fell to the ground and began to dry heave.

"As I was saying little girl. You misunderstand."

"You just shot Garcia!"

"Hey lady, do you want to walk again. To never again be a burden on your precious little girl?" Ignoring the brat, I turned my cheshire like grin towards the mother.

She trembled, and gripped her daughter in her clutches while a wild look took place in her eyes.

"Ow! Mommy, it hurts!"

"I. You, you're lying. You can't fix. Fix me." A hoarse, raspy voice came from the wretched woman.

The words she said would lead one to believe that there was no chance for her. However, her tone of voice held a trace of underlying hope. I had dangled salvation before her, now time to deliver.

"I can understand your skepticism. I'm famous around the Blue's for my ruthless nature, my ferocious combat ability. However, I can do much more than destroy. Behold!" Taking a shadow of a level 1 Impel Down prisoner, I stuffed it into her prone form.

"HnnAAAAHHH" The women screamed in great pain.

"What are you doing to mommy! Monster!"

"My baby girl!" With a gasp, the women stood on her own two feet. The pain of healing overwhelmed by the joy she felt.

Moments ago, her bent and broken legs which had been twisted like a broken marionette had righted themselves. Now she was tossing her daughter into the air, laughing in joy.

"Now do you believe?" I interrupted the mother, child celebration.

"Thank you Moria-sama." The woman deeply bowed, down to the waist. In turn, she pushed her daughter down to bow at the same time.

"Of course. I plan to forge a deep bond with the Goa Kingdom, and its people are a priority of mine. Now that you're healed, I'll need that shadow back."

As a shadow already under my rule, I could get a distinct feel for the thing I had stuck inside the woman. If I wanted to, could I control her with the shadow I had implanted within her body? Shaking my head at the distraction, I held out my hand in her direction. A moment later, the level 1 Impel Down shadow left her body, and entered one of my pockets. I felt like the shadow of the prisoner had lost some of it's corporeality after being used to heal the woman. Huh. Today sure has brought about some interesting discoveries. Hopefully it regenerates over time. Otherwise I'll have to be much more conservative in my usage of the shadows I've stolen.

"Mommy?! What did you do to my mommy!" For the thousandth time, the annoying little girl complained at me.

After focusing back on her mother, I saw the cause of her consternation. Slumped over, the mother was unconscious. Not everyone was like Luffy, and could sustain a shadow being inside of them. Hell, he lost all sorts of power once they left his body. I didn't think it was all that safe to put more than one in someone, much less someone as 'strong' as Absalom! It's no wonder that without the support of the shadow, the woman would fall unconscious.

"Brat, I just cured your mother of a life as a cripple. Show some respect, all she did was fall unconscious."

Addressing the crowd of spectators, I raised my voice: "Spread the word, I will be healing those in the town square over the next couple of days."

After the spectacle, I once again walked towards the castle. Ordinarily, I wouldn't go out of my way to heal someone like this. Someone else's disability or injury isn't my problem, or obligation to fix. However, I had plans for this kingdom out in the boonies. A little good will can make all the difference. Besides, I figure it won't take much to be more respected than that trash, King Stelly.

* * *

I was only a few steps from entering the castle. When I was barred from entry.

"Gecko Moria. What is your reason for visiting our fair kingdom?" A squadron of men dressed in brown greatcoats blocked my path. Each of the guards was armed with a rifle, and sword. Atop their heads, they wore police caps. The Goa Kingdom's flag, a daisy that had three feathers was the defining feature of the hat.

"Lead me to King Stelly. I have a request he cannot resist." I made to take a step forward, but the men held their ground.

"Oh?"

"King Stelly had gone to take a nap. He ordered us that he's not to be disturbed. If we defy his order, he'll kill our families." The leader of the men spoke up, gritting his teeth.

No love lost between subject and sovereign it seems.

"So you won't move, even if I kill you? Am I right?" I questioned.

"That's.." The leader trailed off, and pulled at his shirt while gulping.

"We won't let you bully us. Die to you, or have our entire family wiped out to the fifth generation. It's no choice at all really." A grim faced youth no older than 16 spit to the side, and grit his teeth fiercely.

The guards beside him reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"I see. An admirable decision. I'll make this fast then."

"Wha-" Was all the leader got out before I smacked him in the face.

I sent solid blobs at the men before me with enough force to knock them to the ground. Worse they'd suffer was a concussion.

"Come along Doppleman."

"Please kill me. My family.." A guard struggled to get up. Like a beggar, he stretched out one of his hands towards my back.

As Doppleman was about to pass him by and catch up to me, he threw the orange he had been juggling earlier at the guard's head. Knocking him out.

"You're such a troublemaker Doppleman."

In response, Doppleman mimed laughing before flying over and becoming my shadow again.

When I entered the castle, I was surprised by the wealth on display. It wasn't anything compared to the sights I'd seen at the Holy Land. However, it was impressive nonetheless. Especially since the Goa Kingdom was supposedly plagued with poverty, mountain bandits, and had a pirate problem.

The walls were adorned with exquisite paintings, beautiful glass mosaics were common, and the halls were littered with fancy looking furniture. Heck, the best part about this overly rich place was in fact, the high ceilings! I finally had some breathing room!

A place where I could actually walk that wasn't under the blue sky! I enjoyed my new height; it gave me a commanding presence. However, one of the most serious drawbacks was my inability to go into buildings, and a minus 10 to my sneak skill. Seriously, 90% of people with shadow super powers are stealth masters. Perfect thieves, and assassins, etc. Then look at me. A giant, obese monster guy. Am I even human? I had an ugly look on my face at the injustice of it all.

"Ah, mercy, mercy!" A old guy with a white mustache, and a thinning head of hair held up his hands as he plead.

"Haa?" I had been casually knocking guards to the ground on my walk through the castle when I ran into this guy cowering on the ground.

"I'm just a butler, mercy my lord!"

"A butler, hm. Then you should know where King Stelly is. Lead me to him, and you shall be spared."

"As, as you wish! Right this way." The butler placed his hand over his heart, and gave a bow. His old timey formal attire had tassels flutter behind him as he led me to an opulent room.

"Announcing the Shichibukai, Warlord of the Sea's, Gecko Moria!" Job done; the butler was quick to scurry away from the room.

Sitting on a throne, and admiring himself in a mirror, King Stelly, in all his bowl cut glory ignored me. So much for sleeping.

"Oh, you're so beautiful. I wish I could look at you forever, and ever, and ever." Stelly continued to hold the mirrior in one hand, as he stroked his face with the other.

"I love you too dear." The woman beside him, who I could only assume was his wife, took the compliment from Stelly to be one for herself.

Besides the two monarchs', there were two servants, and two more guards inside the room. While the rulers ignored me, the other four began to sweat as I let a minute go by without speaking. I was kind of curious how long it would take for this self-absorbed narcissist to recognize me.

Five minutes later, and it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. Tragic.

"You four, leave us."

Glancing quickly between me and King Stelly, the four came to a decision unanimously, and quickly departed. When they left, I used some shadows, and closed the door behind them.

"Ahem." I coughed to get the royals attention. But it was to no avail. They didn't even notice the guards and servants leaving.

Summoning a shadow, I slapped both of them across the face.

"What?! You! How _dare _you do that to a royalty! Guards, kill him, guards!" Stelly foamed at the mouth after his slap.

"Guards, guards kill this ugly abomination, it's unfit for a King to lay eyes upon!" Stelly continued to shout.

Honestly, I was impressed. I doubt he knew who Gecko Moria was given his ignorance, but still. I'm a giant pale monster, and the first thing he does is insult me. I summoned a small shadow tendril. One slightly thicker than a string of yarn. In a flash, it went up the Queen's nose, and scrambled her brains. She didn't even have time to scream, her death happened so quickly.

"To keep her fresh. I can't have people notice any abnormalities about you two, you see." I gave the now horrified Stelly a crooked grin.

"You, you just harmed a noble! The World Government won't stand for this! They'll hang you from the gallows!" Stelly gripped his throne tight, and leaned back as far as he could in an attempt to distance himself from me.

"Stop! What are you doing?! No no no no! NO! NOOOOOO!"

* * *

The previous night, I had spent wearing the shadows of a dozen Impel Down convicts. Sitting in seiza, I meditated in an effort to keep the shadows surrounding me in a cohesive shape. The conflicting wills of the shadows screamed at me in rage, and yelled at me in sorrow. Each one demanding I set them free. Finally, I couldn't ignore maintain the shadow armor state, and released the shadows. Just before they were about to escape, and return to their original masters, I stretched out my arm, collecting the now drastically smaller shadows into my pockets. For my efforts, I was rewarded with an additional minute longer compared to my usual 10 minutes. Reflecting on my progress, I was interrupted from my musings by King Stelly.

"Citizens of Goa Kingdom, I am proud to announce the appointment of our very first Prime Minister! He's one of the heroes of our era. Gecko Moria!" King Stelly clapped enthusiastically as he made way for me to take center stage.

Down below, there was a sea of people packed so tightly they had no wiggle room. Practically the entire town was forced to witness my ascension.

"As Prime Minister of Goa Kingdom, I will work towards reducing poverty. Every man and woman will be provided with work! Homelessness will become nonexistent. Everyone will have a roof over their head! Thank you for your warm welcome!" I spread my arms as the crowd cheered. Who knows if it was genuine or not, what mattered was that I now had power over a kingdom. A large grin adorned my face. If the people didn't find work here, they'd find themselves employed at my factory, or underground. They'd always have a roof above their heads. I never once lied them.

Crocodile spent months plotting, and stirring up trouble in Alabasta. All that trouble, just to be defeated by an idiot rubberman who had no concept of haki. How pathetic. Truly. Meanwhile, I simply walked up to Stelly, murdered him, and converted his corpse into my loyal vassal. He was such an asshole to his servants; I doubt anyone will care about his change in mannerisms and personality.

"Ki shi shi, come along _King _Stelly. Your nobleman are awaiting you in the throne room."

"Of course, Moria-sam" Stelly began before I gave him the stink eye.

"Ahh, ahem, Prime Minister Moria." Stelly finished with a nervous smile.

As we entered the throne room, a throng of about a dozen nobleman and noblewoman stood huddled together in groups of three or four. I overheard several of them whispering to each other about how 'reprehensible' and 'irresponsible' my appointment was. That it was a 'disgrace to nobles everywhere.'

"Your Grace, King Stelly. We know your wisdom is boundless. We only wish that you'd consult us before appointing a Prime Minister."

"He has no dignity. At the very least, appoint a noble to the position your Grace!" A weedily voiced noble interjected.

"As your father, I must oppose this Stelly."

"Give the command Stelly." I pushed Stelly forward.

"Outrageous! How dare you touch the Monarch of the Goa Kingdom like that you upstart! Guards, seize!" One of the noble's yelled in outrage. Before he could complete his sentence, Stelly spoke up.

"Prime Minister Moria, slay these traitors! Guards! Seize the lands, properties, and businesses of the nobles of the Goa Kingdom! Imprison their families! When it comes to authority, Prime Minister Moria has my full trust, and support. His commands are my commands! He is the highest ranked official in this kingdom." Stelly interrupted the outraged noble.

"King Stelly you bastard, I helped you take the throne, and this is the thanks you repay me with!? A curse upon your house!"

"You can't do this; I have a wife. Kids! Seven kids! A beautiful red head daughter, she's only 6 just yesterday! A blue haired-urk!"

Several noble's cursed, shouted, and harangued me and Stelly. All to be cut short as my shadows made quick work of them. In less then a minute, the kingdoms nobility had been purged.

Witnessing the carnage, the guards gulped before going about their tasks.

"That could've been us…"

"Boy, I'm glad the Prime Minister held back yesterday."

"Shut the fuck up! We need to get those estates and properties under control yesterday!"

"Good work Stelly. My ship should be here later today, tomorrow at the latest. Name my first mate, Absalom as the Minister of the Interior. Give him powers and authorities second only to mine. Anything related to business or property, follow his command."

"Thank you for your trusted advice." Stelly smiled my way.

"You, butler. Take me to the treasury. Afterward, find someone to prepare a list or ledger of the King's holdings. Our new Minister of the Interior will need it."

"Yes, Prime Minister! This way." The same butler from last night bowed.

By the time we reached our destination, we entered a large chamber. Within sat a wrinkly old man. He had one of those wispy wizard beards, and was writing on a parchment while using an abacus.

"This is our treasurer, Steeles. He's our late King's bastard great uncle." The butler introduced.

"Steeles, this is our new Prime Minister. Show him the current state of the treasury."

"Not now Gerald, I'm busy! Hm, Prime Minister you say?" The old man shouted everything he said. I had a sneaking suspicion he was likely close to deaf. Joy.

"Holy smokes! My condolences my boy. Devil Fruits are known to have adverse effects from time to time, but I've never met someone as ugly as you! You'll be perfect for my niece! Lady's large as a whale, and horribly single, why!"

"Cough. This is our new Prime Minister, _Gecko Moria_. Steeles, he was personally selected by King Stelly. I would _heavily _advise you accommodate him to the best of your ability. This isn't someone you can afford to offend." The butler, Gerald began to accumulate sweat. Through my shadow reading, I could tell he was doing everything he could to warn Steeles of the potential danger he was in.

"Nonsense Gerald! The kingdom couldn't run without me! Even that fool, boy King Stelly knows who butters his bread!" Steeles cackled as the abacus continued to clack away.

"You don't understand Steeles the Prime Minister, he is…" Gerald trailed off.

"Don't keep me in suspense man! He is…what, fat? Anyone with eyes could see that!" Steeles guffawed.

I don't know if it's a super power or a disability to have this many people ignore me, but this is ridiculous. Unlike Stelly, I was hesitant to straight up murder this guy. At least not until all of his knowledge was placed solely in Absalom's hands. By then, I wouldn't have to interact with him, so killing him might be more detrimental than helpful.

With a sigh, I slapped the old man upside his head.

"I just purged all the nobles on King Stelly's command. You're related to the nobility, quit slacking about or get in line. What's it going to be?" I narrowed my eyes as my shadows formed a vice like grip around his neck.

"I'm old, I've lived through three kings! Like I give a shit!" The old guy spit at me, even as he was slowly being strangled to death.

"As you wish." I released my hold on him, and pulled his shadow to me. After a quick snip, Steeles fell unconscious. I turned to the butler.

"Sorry about this." A shadow javelin pierced his heart, causing the butler to fall down dead.

Grasping the still wriggling shadow in hand, I stuffed it into the corpse of the butler. It's a shame, but some people refuse to be intimidated. I had considered absorbing the shadow myself, but then I would only have the abilities of a treasurer, not the memories. Implanting a shadow into a zombie would give basic memories for a day or two before they dissipated. Luffy's shadow wanted meat, wanted to become Pirate King, and knew who Sanji was. I was banking on the same concept to get this treasury zombie to work for me. A day's memories were all I needed.

After my usual spiel of loyalty, and imprinting the shadow with my commands, I was ready to review the treasury.

"Okay treasury zombie, give me a summary of King Stelly's holdings." I rubbed my temples, the whole interaction between the butler and treasurer was much more rigmarole than I had expected.

"Of course, Moria-sama. Currently, the treasury has over 300 million beri's worth of liquid cash. Additionally, we hold gold bars, gems, and precious minerals estimated at over 500 million stored further down. The King personally has a stake in more than half of all local businesses, owns a coal mine, and collects rent from a quarter of the apartments. Including costs, King Stelly typically earns over 100 million in profit from his businesses alone." Treasury zombie went over a ledger he had collected from the unconscious Steeles.

"And what about taxes? How much does the King collect, and how much do we pay the World Noble's in tribute?"

"We collect 10 million beri from the local nobles. Port tax generates 5 million. Coal tax generates 12 million. And finally, our taxman directly collects 25 million from the populace every year. For a total of 52 million beri. The World Government demands we pay 30 million every year, or we risk withdrawing from the World Government. Worse, the Marine's may depose King Stelly, and place their own puppet monarch."

"Hm, seems the World Government likes that 30 million number. The Goa Kingdom must pay that amount, and the same is demanded of me. Small world." I muttered to myself.

"Moria-sama."

"Hm, you say something treasury zombie?"

"No sir."

"Moria-sama." The same voice from earlier repeated itself.

Ah, it's the mice! Through my shadow reading ability, I had finally noticed the tiny mice crawling near my shoes.

"Ah, spy mouse, you have something to report?" I held out my hand, and held the mouse close to my face. Just what could this thing discover in a day that it thought it was important enough to report to me?

"That's right Moria-sama, I did just as you commanded! While sniffing around in a bar, I heard some rumors. That in a nearby mountain range, a disgraced Marine martial arts master has formed a bandit group."

"How certain of this are you mouse? Did you catch the name of this Marine?" I looked at the shadow inside the mouse for any deception.

"Squeak! Very certain! The story teller had a fresh bandage around a missing arm. Blood was still dripping through the wrappings. As to the name of the former Marine, it was, Saga."

Interesting, maybe I'll soon find myself with some new workers, and a powerful shadow. Clearing the nearby region of bandits and pirates was one of my goals for two reasons. First, to supplement my army with new bodies or shadows. Second, to generate some good will among the populace. If I'm lucky, this will also translate towards a more efficient workforce.

"I've decided. Mouse, direct me to this Saga's location."

"Squeak! I'm a rat, not a mouse!"

"Whatever you say mouse."

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Do you have any further orders for me Lord Prime Minister?" The treasury zombie interrupted.

"Ah, I forgot you were here. As a matter of fact, there is. Prepare the ledger, and all relevant information regarding the economy of Goa Kingdom. I'm expecting my chief manager, Absalom to arrive later today, tomorrow at the latest. Hand all the relevant information to him, and help him with whatever he asks."

"Yes sir!"

Looking around, I spotted a den den mushi resting on Steeles's table.

"Ah, I should've taken one of these with me. What if there was an emergency on Thriller Bark, and Absalom couldn't contact me?" Picking the snail up, I gave Absalom a call.

"Hello, who is this? How did you get this number?" Absalom's voice shouted from the other end.

"It's me."

"Moria-sama! You left us worried after your sudden departure. All is well I hope?"

"Everything is going according to plan. I've become Prime Minister of Goa Kingdom, and all of our financial woes are at an end. Hurry here, and review the treasury. I've appointed you as a cabinet member, and purged all of the obstacles standing in our way. You have authority to command the people as you please. However, I'm trying to build a public image as being fair. Don't mess this up, don't go hogwild."

"Hueh! Heahrk!.Kerah!." Sounds of gagging and barfing were taking place on the other end.

"Absalom, are you okay? Are you being held hostage?" Concern entered my voice as I prepared to launch myself in Absalom's direction. No one was going to threaten my crew. My island, and base of operations!

"Ah, no, everything's okay, uhh, Blue just fed me the worst soup of my life. But I'll get better! You have no worries Captain, I _won't _go _hogwild_, I can assure you!" Absalom sounded more serious than usual, and repeatedly denied he'd do anything untoward.

"Hmmm. Call this den den mushi if you're in trouble, and pass the number around to Hogback and Perona too. I'm going into the nearby mountains and see if I can't wrangle up some new recruits."

"Happy hunting Captain!"

* * *

I had taken flight, directly leaving town for the hills. Within five minutes, I had locked on to my target.

"That way, Moria-sama. They're just over that ridge." The spy rat pointed its small pink finger towards a hill.

Down below, I spotted a hundred men drilling with a sword in a clearing. I lowered my surfboard shaped shadow a bit, and jumped off.

"Squeak! We're going to die!" The rat in my hand cried out in terror.

_Voom!_

With a crash, I tore into the middle of the training square. Dust spilled out in every direction, obscuring my visibility.

"Good thing I don't need to see to read." I closed my eyes, and focused solely on the shadows near my position. In combination with my current level of haki, I knew exactly where everyone was within a hundred meters.

"Tentacle Explosion!" I thrust my hands to the side, and a swarm of tree branch shaped shadowy tendrils rushed outward. In an instant, all one hundred of the shell-shocked bandits fell dead to my attack.

"Tentacle Explosion." The rat asked in a deadpan voice.

"I've had enough of the backseat driving _mouse _into the pocket you go." Stuffing the rat into my pocket, I took stock of the battlefield. After the dust blew away, I saw a sea of corpses. All in all, this was easier than I thought. Then again, it is the East Blue.

"Ah, my mistake. I got 99 of them." Standing furthest from the epicenter of my attack, a silver haired tan guy, who was in a red ancient chinese style vest.

The branch I had shot out towards the guy had been sliced to pieces.

"You must be Saga." I stood still as I directed the remaining tree branch shaped shadows at Saga.

They looped behind his back, from above, and beneath. The tree branch shaped shadows swiped at him all to no avail. At every turn, he would dodge, duck, and weave at just the right time. Whenever there was a gap in my attack, he would slash at the shadow, and dissipate it. Over time, Saga destroyed nearly all of the shadows I had spawned earlier. During his fight, I noticed his right arm hung ragged in the wind, completely useless.

"This is nothing! Youkazan!" With a shout, Saga launched a wave of fire at the remaining shadows, utterly destroying them.

"That's a nice sword you've got there, is it master grade?"

"Pathetic worm. Your attack was useless! Prepare yourself. You'll make a beautiful sacrifice for Shichiseiken!" Saga launched several fireballs my way in succession.

In response to the flames, I formed some shadows in front of me, and had them spin in a vortex, completely nullifying Saga's fiery attack. I then took the shadows formed from the vortex, and launched a swarm of brick bats at Saga. He destroyed all but one of them easily. The bat that got through began to chew on his ankle before he destroyed it.

"Enough with these parlor tricks!" Saga shouted as he charged in my direction once he realized he'd lost the ranged game.

"Ki shi shi shi, I'm surprised you would have the spine to attack me so ruthlessly. You don't recognize me? I thought you were an ex-Marine?!" I pulled out my dual swords, and lunged at Saga.

"Should I recognize every random who falls before my blade?" Saga smirked as he closed with me, and we began to trade blows.

After numerous clashes, there was no clear victor. Fighting this guy was similar to my fight with Cigar Guy back at Marineford. This Saga was more skilled than me with a blade, his footwork was indeed superb. It even felt like he occasionally could predict my attacks. I doubted he had haki, but even with mine, it was slightly difficult to get an accurate read on the guy. As we locked swords in a power struggle, I easily overwhelmed him in strength. With little struggle, I flung Saga backwards, and into the side of a mountain.

"And what of your crew?" I questioned.

Extricating himself from the human shaped hole his body had created, Saga stretched his shoulders as he scowled at me in irritation.

"Weaklings holding me back! With this blade, I _will _become Emperor of the World!" After his declaration, Saga began to yell fiercely as a wild green glow began to intensify all over his sword.

Rushing forward, it appeared that he wanted to exchange blows with me once more. Through shadow reading, I could get a vague sense of his intensions. Looks like he was sour over losing our last power clash! He wanted to blow me up in a torrent of flame the next time our blades met. Very well, I'll give him his wish. An evil grin appeared on my face as I moved to meet him.

After a few more swipes, we once more locked swords.

"Youkazan!" A bright green, fiery inferno exploded out of Saga's sword. The small mountain he had crashed into earlier had been reduced to molten slag by the intensity of the heat.

"Ha, ha. Trash like that belongs in the incinerator." Breathing heavily from the fight, Saga sheathed his sword, and turned around to count his losses.

In the process of turning around, Saga bounced right off my belly, and fell on his ass.

"Hey."

Saga took a deep breath, and stood up, unsheathing his sword. He took a defensive position for the first time since the fight began. "I saw you burn to death. Not even your shadow survived the power of Shichiseiken. So how? How are you still alive?"

With narrowed eyes, Saga asked his question with a cool confidence.

His will to win still hasn't been extinguished. Ha ha, this kid! He wants me to talk, and buy himself some time to heal from his exhaustion! I'll play that game. Soon, Saga, you'll discover your hope is a false messiah.

"I'm a devil fruit user. Mine is called the kage-kage no mi. I'm the ruler of shadows, I can generate, and control shadows among other things. What you saw disintegrate _was _my shadow. Ki shi shi shi" Without explicitly explaining things, I let him come to his own conclusion as to how I escaped his attack.

Slowly stepping backwards towards the corpses of his dead crew, Saga kept asking me questions.

"And you said you were surprised I hadn't recognized you. I've lived in these hills for the last month, should I recognize you?" Now upon the corpses, Saga stuck his blade in one of the corpses. He leaned deeply into his sword, acting like he was completely exhausted. Through shadow reading, I could tell that the blood from the corpse was entering the sword, and restoring his energy.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised then that you didn't recognize me. My wanted poster is ancient, and I haven't made a public appearance in more than a decade. You may be familiar with this name. Gecko Moria, Royal Shichibukai." I grinned as Saga's face began to change in dawning recognition.

"That's right, it's no wonder your defeat is certain. My former bounty of over 320 million beri."

"I don't believe you." A disinterested Saga moved on to the next corpse once the first one had dried up.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled.

"I'm fine. Everything is fine now." I spoke aloud to myself.

"Hm hm hm. Call yourself whatever you want, _fool_. Gecko Moria, Whitebeard, the Hero Garp. Makes no difference to me. Trash will always be trash! While you were busy answering my questions, the holy sword Shichiseiken has completely healed all wounds, and returned my energy!" Saga began to laugh like a madman, as his sword charged with an even stronger glow than last time.

"This is the end! You're one small step on my road to hegemony!" Saga charged forward.

"Kuh!" Saga spit out a massive goblet of blood.

Mid charge, Saga fell to the ground. My shadowed clawed fingers had gone clean through his chest. The tip of each of my fingers was wider than your average sword. I held Saga aloft before flinging him to the side.

"Kuh!" Spitting out another bucketful of blood, Saga climbed to his knees.

My entire form was clad in shadow armor as I stared deep into Saga's eyes. Standing silently, I flicked the blood off my hand in contempt. As if that was some sort of signal, Saga roared to his feet.

"I am the future Emperor! I will not be held back!" Saga's silver hair grew to his waist, his muscles bulged from an even toned form to body builder worthy, and a red tint shaded his eyes as he lost all reason.

Faster than he'd ever moved before, Saga launched a combination of fireballs, fireblasts, and flame slices at me. While launching these elemental attacks, Saga moved to close distance with me.

It wasn't enough. For each of his attacks, I perfectly side stepped each fireball, fireblast, and flame slice. Those that got close, I went flat with the ground to easily avoid. When Saga got close, I teleported into his shadow, and raked my claws across his back.

"Aargh!" Saga cried out like a wounded animal. His attacks became much wilder and more ferocious. The surrounding landscape was utterly pulverized. What he lacked in precision, he more than made up for in attack power.

Again, he attempted to close with me. Again, I teleported to his shadow. This time, he launched a scathing inferno right when I teleported behind him. In that split second, I replaced myself with the nearby Doppleman. With his back still turned, I lashed out, and cut all of his tendons with blades of shadow.

Like a puppet with its strings detached, Saga dropped to the ground, unable to move. He struggled and thrashed, defying the fate he had found himself in. With the power of my shadow, I took no chances, and took the sword away from him. Less than a minute later, Saga's vigorous struggling came to an end. His hair had shrunk back down, and his muscles deflated like a balloon bereft of air.

In return, I dissipated my shadow armor, and looked down at the man. Remarkably, he was still conscious.

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't use my ultimate technique lightly. But for you, I had to make an exception. To truly understand the gap in power between us, and the powers you would face in the New World. You have _much _to learn before even thinking about conquest. You're young still, and have plenty of time to grow. Some of the Yonko didn't achieve their current status until their 30's, maybe even their 40's. You're what, in your early 20's? You have time to learn and grow.

Join my crew Saga! I don't require you to be loyal. I do expect you to obey orders. I respect your dream Saga, most people make fun of those who wish to conquer the world. While I don't know if you'll succeed, yours is a future with great potential. Don't let it end here in the weakest Blue. Nod if you agree, and I can save you. Otherwise, it's as you've said, this is the end."

* * *

**AN: Saga is from the 5****th**** One Piece Movie. I used my author powers to change some of his abilities/the timeline. **

**If Moria ever went to Skypiea, how do you think he should cheese their technology? How could a zombie exploit explosives to the max?**

**Moria 2020. "Everyone will have a roof over their head." **


	26. Chapter 26

During my fight with Saga, distant thunderclouds had moved in. Currently, a dense cloud cover blocked what little light peaked through the setting sun.

Tendons cut, and pinned by my shadows, Saga looked to the sky. A light drizzle began to fall on us, as I stood patiently awaiting his answer. His hair became slick, covering his face, and hiding any expression.

With a thought, I used shadow reading on him, and was utterly perplexed. It seemed as if a conversation was going on between a monster, and a boy. This man has an additional personality? Given what I remember about the movie, and his blade, I can't say I'm surprised.

"**We CANNOT allow ourselves to be subservient to this misshapen creature! His skill with a blade is **_**subpar. **_**He's fit only to be OUR slave. He will kneel before us, and beg, **_**beg **_**for mercy. And when his will is broken, when he wishes to be free from the shackles, we shall show him none. No succour for the obese clown!**"

"_You fool. You speak of breaking him, but it is we who are doomed. Surrender to him, we can still fulfill my dream."_

"**YOUR dream! A pathetic goal. To become the 'Sword of Justice' and protect the weak. The only reason I keep you around is because when I'm King of the World, it will be **_**my **_**Justice. That's why it's called Justice, it's just us."**

"_King of the World. Ha! How could you begin to imagine such a thing? I never once defeated Zoro, and were toyed with by this Shichibukai. We may be at the top in East Blue, but what about the rest of the world? Sensei was right, maybe I don't have what it takes to be the number one sword of Justice…"_

"**Always the whiner. If it wasn't for me, you'd have died to those three thugs protecting your little girlfriend. Your crippled arm has held you back for years. Worthless."**

"_You take that back! Maya is worth more than an arm, I'd give my life for her!"_

"**Yes, and soon after, the bandits would've had a sweet time with her. Face it, without me, you're nothing. Call on me, my power, and we can escape from this!"**

"_No! You won't get in the way of my dream!"_

"**What are you doing? No, stop! We'll become slaves!"**

"_Tell me, is it slavery when you get what you want?! My dream can't end here. You won't stop me!"_

"Haaah, hah. Gecko Moria, my name is Saga. Promise me one thing, and I will join your crew." Saga let out tired gasps as he struggled to sit up.

"And what would that be?"

"I want-mnmn" Saga began only to have his speech muffled.

Raising his voice, Saga began again: "I want to become the strongest swor-" Saga's face twisted as if he was in pain. A smug grin replaced the grimace as he finished the sentence.

"I want to become the strongest **power **I can be. You said some Yonko didn't make it till their 40's. As the future Emperor of the World, I'll be stronger than them at 30. Promise me you'll help increase my power, and I will join your crew." At the end, Saga wore a look of pure disgust. As if he'd been forced to bite into a bar of soap.

"Ki shi shi shi! Welcome to the Thriller Bark Pirates, Saga! I have very simple rules for my crew. Don't destroy my things, that includes your fellow crewmates! Otherwise, I don't care what you do. If you kill some civilians, Marine's, or whoever, don't get caught. You're welcome to take part in drugs, sell illegal goods, or any other morally ambiguous activity. Primarily, and most importantly, don't take any trouble back to Thriller Bark Island, or my property's and I'll have no issue with you." I smiled at him.

"However. If you should disregard my kindness." I leaned in close, and began to slowly tighten the bonds around his extremities, depriving his limbs of oxygen.

"Then you'll make me very, very _unhappy_. Do we understand each other?" I was now so close to him that my every syllable exhaled against his face.

With a nod from Saga, I dissipated the shadows holding him to the ground.

"Good, good! With that settled, let's head back to home base." I scooped Saga up, and princess carried him while I stood upon my surfboard shaped shadow. Following my vivre card keyed to Absalom, I began my journey to Thriller Bark.

I didn't have to emasculate him like this, but it was prerogative that I set up the pecking order early with a guy like Saga. I get the feeling he'll be a lot like Starscream from the transformers cartoon. Always trying to take over my operation. Hopefully for both our sakes, his usefulness can keep him alive long enough to advance my goals. I'd hate to have made a bad investment.

In a good mood at a successful recruitment, I began to share some of my sagely advice. "You know Saga, you don't mind if I call you Saga, do you? Anyway, you know, Saga, among my many abilities, I can completely heal a person of all wounds. Ordinarily, as a fair, and just employer, I'd heal you up free of charge. As a good boss, I want each and every one of my subordinates to have a healthy mind, body, and home life." And as his boss, I'd make sure he recovered from his wounds naturally. Nothing teaches a lesson like pain. There's a reason why even the mentally retarded don't stick their hands in open flames.

"Of course, I happened to notice that disabled arm of yours, and couldn't help but wonder to myself. 'Moria old boy, this looks like the perfect time to test Saga's willingness to fight for the cause.' So, I won't be healing your wounds, and more importantly, your disabled arm. Here's a lesson in trickery. If you want to be a villain number one, just follow my moves, and sneak around! It's boss etiquette 101 really, test the new blood and see if they're worthy of joining the organization. Stick with me Saga, and you'll learn all you need from a leader's perspective. There's more to power than how fast you can kill someone."

"Number one? Nmm, the pain, make it stop." Saga weakly complained.

"Hush Saga, you'll learn with time that in this type of work environment, pain is an obstacle to be overcome. You see, to be a leader you…"

* * *

"In conclusion, always make sure to give 110 percent, think outside the box for solutions, bite the bullet when the getting gets tough, and always, always wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Because if you don't, you're pure evil."

"Ah, we're here." Spotting the Castle Mast, I gave Absalom a call on the den den mushi: "Meet me in my office, I'll be there in a minute."

'Hm, less than 10 minutes in flight, not bad. Thriller Bark is quite close to Goa Kingdom.'

After arriving on the island, I spotted Red holding a lantern on my balcony. A dim light in the rain soaked, sea of darkness.

"Greetings Moria-sama." Red bowed.

"Let's go inside Red, I may block the rain with my shadows during flight, but the cold is troublesome all the same."

"Of course, sir." With another bow, Red opened the way to my room.

Inside my dimly lit room, Absalom sat at a table reading a newspaper, and sipping on a coffee.

After a round of greetings, I relaxed into my giant sized beanbag chair, and turned to Red: "This is the kind of weather perfect for tea, make it so. Oh, and fetch someone to carry our new crewmate to his quarters. Set him up in a nice room at the mansion, but he doesn't need anything too fancy."

"Does he require any medical attention?" Red, ever thoughtful took a curious glance at the still bleeding Saga.

I looked down at him, and my mood instantly soured. Just my luck. My act of carrying him only got my clothes dirty, and covered in blood. At least it didn't spray all over my face this time. In a petty act of anger, I tossed Saga out of my room with a swish of my hand.

"Have someone stop the bleeding, otherwise this is a lesson he'll have to overcome himself."

"R-right away s-sir!" With a jolt of nervousness, Red bolted out of the room.

"What a funny guy that Red is, eh Absalom?"

"Ahh, ha ha, always a joker that Red." Absalom pulled at his collar and gulped.

I narrowed my eyes in response. "Never mind all that. As you saw, that bloodied young man is our new crewmate. His name is Saga, a former Marine sword trainer. If you discount Shanks, he's probably the third or so most accomplished swordsman to have come from East Blue. I see great potential in him."

"Third strongest in East Blue, that's not so impressive. Wait, if he has so much potential, if that's the case, than why didn't you heal his-" Absalom began before I interrupted him mid sentence.

"Why didn't I heal his wounds? This one is willful, and has dreams of grandeur. We'll need to watch our backs around him for a time. I'll be honest, in a straight fight, I think he'd defeat you."

"He's that strong?!" Absalom raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"He wields a powerful sword, and is highly skilled. I commanded him not to cause any trouble, but I wouldn't put it past him to attempt a murder of our crew while I'm away on business."

"If he's such a danger, why not kill him now? Why take the risk?" Taking my warning very seriously, Absalom asked the question in a concerned voice.

"Hmph, you should know better. Has the time in the Florian Triangle really softened you to such a degree? We're pirates! What you, me, Perona, and Hogback have going on is rare in the world. In every crew there's at least a few who envy the Captains position. Saga is disposable. Should he ever outlive his usefulness, or take a step to far out of line, I'll end him myself. The issue is, our crew is lacking elites. The General Zombies are strong, but if the original owner dies, I've lost an asset. With living people as my subordinates, they have potential for endless growth, and could surpass the undead." I explained to Absalom how I saw recruitment. This is the real world, not all people are selfless saints. It's unrealistic to think that everyone I recruit would have 100 plus loyalty to me.

Even if I were to save a beggar from the streets and trained them to be a soldier, it'd be a gamble if they stayed loyal to me. Human nature is greedy, selfish and self-fulfilling. For example, in canon, I bet most of the rank and file pirates who joined Blackbeard used to be part of Whitebeard's crew. People follow the strong, it's the way of nature.

The kind of trust Luffy's crew has between one another is unthinkable in 99.99 percent of all cases. They knew each other for a month, less than that in Zoro's case, and were willing to die for each other. I may only have that kind of trust with my parents, and my best friend who I've known for a decade.

"Anyway, keep an eye on the man. I'll send a spy rat to monitor him and keep us updated."

"Your tea Moria-sama." Red placed the tea before me.

With a nod in his direction, I continued conversing with Absalom.

"Enough of this talk about recruits. The Goa Kingdom is now under my dominion, and I've appointed you as Minister of the Interior. You'll be responsible for our financial situation there, the businesses left behind by King Stelly, and the nobles. I want you to handle the matters pertaining to the payment of our tribute to the Celestial Dragons. Additionally, search for skilled mercenary's, I have no immediate plans to hire any, but there's a person or two that I'm interested in.

With our recent windfall, I've decided to undergo several ventures that require our Underworld contacts. Inform the Germa 66, you have my permission to spend the 100,000,000 beri necessary for our factory construction. You may spend up to 50,000,000 on advanced den den mushi's. I want a full suite security system installed at the factory; and a security system for the underground workplace I have envisioned as well. Not only that, get your hands on at least 20 small sized den den mushi. It's essential that they can fit inside our spy rats."

Absalom had a pen and paper out, scribbling furiously to keep up with my monologue.

"Lastly, keep track of any abandoned coal mines at the Goa Kingdom. I've decided not to keep all my eggs in one basket, and invest heavily in the country. The catch and release system I have when taking a person's shadow belongs in the past. It's a wonder we have as many zombies as we do. That the original owners haven't disintegrated is a small miracle. I need a place to keep the shadow donor's, and Thriller Bark is too conspicuous.

If a successful riot or break in were to occur on Thriller Bark, it could be catastrophic. That means the assailants would have a chance, however slim, to team up and take me out. However, if an attack was made on Goa Kingdom, any escapee would have to deal with the sun. It's a fool proof plan. I have ideas to educate the people we've shanghaied, and turn them into assets worth more than their shadow, but we can discuss that another time." I leaned back into my beanbag, and took a long sip of tea. All this talking made me parched. The steady pitter patter of rain upon the stained-glass window, along with the warmth of my drink set me in a relaxed mood.

"That'll be all for now. It's been a long day, and I think I'll catch some shut eye. If you need me, I'll be at the Goa capitol's town square testing my healing ability over the next few days. Now that business is over, I can finally change out of these bloodstained clothes. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy bathing in the blood of my enemies. Good night Absalom." After dismissing Absalom, I took a long shower, making sure to scrub all of Saga's blood off my body, and turned in for the night.

* * *

"Step right up, one and all! Old, young, man, woman, boy or girl! Everyone is welcome! Yessiree! Giants, fishman, long-arms, long-legs, every variant of human, or sentient creature is invited to a once in a lifetime experience!" A dark-skinned zombie who could pass for a living human being began to proselytize a crowd of curious citizens. His body would shake, and sway whenever he put emphasis on certain words. Standing before a giant circus tent that encapsulated the town square, the zombie's curly white hair would shake and shudder along with his body.

"This is it! The one and only time to heal your deformities, to heal your wounds!" The zombie gestured wide with his arms, reaching into the skies. A light shower fell upon him in an otherwise mostly sunny day.

"Horseshit! This Prime Minster is'na better than tha King!" A voice cried out from the crowd. As a result, the crowd began to mutter in doubt.

"Some of you may have heard the _good _rumors!" The zombie continued his speech, ignoring the heckler.

"Well I tell you, they aren't just rumors, they're truths! The other day, His Grace took pity on a crippled lady, and completely cured her lame leg! She can now provide for her daughter, protect her family! In fact, here she is now! Tell us what His Grace did to you, is he the monster all those yellow journalists claim him to be?" With a wide smile, the zombie pushed a blonde woman forward. Daughter in hand, the woman took center stage.

With a face full of nervousness, the woman faced the crowd, and almost broke down. After an encouraging pat, smile and nod from the zombie, she gulped and began her statement. "H-hello. My name is Maria Sanchez, and I am a nurse. Or at least, I used to be. Then, the_ accident _happened. I won't go to much into detail, but I lost my job, my husband left me saying I was damaged goods. When I got my movement back. I. I don't know what to say, but thank you! Thank you to the Prime Minister!"

"Now, now honey. What was the _experience _like? The people are **dying **to know!"

"It, it was painful! When my leg righted itself, it was more painful than the original break! He, put a shadow in me, I felt all confused, and scared. The next moment, I remember pain, and holding my baby girl, lifting her up like I hadn't been able to in years. Then, everything was dark. I guess I must've lost consciousness because of the pain?" The woman looked at the zombie with a questioning look.

"That's right! Even a miracle has its price! The price we pay to live is paid for by the deaths of animals and vegetables. This is the miracle of life! To heal others, my Lord requires the shadows of the worthy. Those who volunteer themselves to this one-time service will receive _10,000 _beri! That's right folks, act now, and 10,000 beri will be yours for this most holy service! Help save your fellow countrymen, _and _get a cash reward! _Our_ Lord's magnanimity knows no bounds."

At the zombie's declaration, the crowd went into a frenzy.

"I could buy more than fifty loaves of bread with that kind of money!"

"Idiot, buying bread! Get a hunting rifle, or better yet, a small boat and some fishing nets!"

"Clothes! I could use a new blanket, and some winter clothes for my family!"

"You have five kids Chris, of course you'd think of clothes!"

"Money, money, money!"

"Who among you has a bad back, knee, or other joint? Who among you have the _need _to be healed!?" The zombie raised his arms up high.

"I do! I need to be healed!"

"No, me first, I need to be healed, I've had tooth pain since I was a lad!"

"Good, good! I can see the fervor, the _passion _to serve! However, I have a question for all of you. Are you _ready_?"

"Yes!"

"I said, _are you ready_?!"

"YES!"

"There is only _ONE _man who is up to the task. The great and powerful Royal Shichibukai, Emperor of Shadows, and our Goa Kingdoms very own Prime Minister! And his name is GECKO MORIAAAAA!"

To the sound of drums and a trumpet, I made my entrance in a carriage made of pure shadow, drawn by two horses, also made of pure shadow. It took a surprising amount of concentration to keep this amount of shadow corporeal, and constantly sustained. I was proud of my work.

"Hello Goa Kingdom! People across the world have forgotten my name. Lost to the Florian Triangle, I spent 20 years, seeking knowledge itself! I heard you came here to be healed?!"

The crowd began to cheer, and quickly devolved into a mob as they struggled to be closest to me.

"Heal me!"

"Me first, I want my money!"

"I love you Moria-sama!"

"And I love you random citizen! Okay everyone, form an orderly line, and we'll get through this by the end of the day!"

"You heard the Prime Minister, form an orderly line you animals!" Several club wielding Goa Kingdom guards began to push, and roughly shove the citizens into a line.

"Good job Preacher. Your combat potential isn't anything special, but I'm very impressed by your mass." I whispered to the dark-skinned zombie. I had specifically searched for the best conman among the shadows I'd stolen. It came as no surprise that a lowly Level 2 inmates shadow would be such a gifted con artist.

"Nonsense my Lord. Speaking your Gospel is my truth! These ingraits couldn't see greatness if it slapped them in the face! You're granting these mud people a _real _honest to goodness cure for physical ailments. But because of your appearance, your reputation, I have to sell literal miracles like a snake oil salesman! Trust me when I say this my Lord, you don't need their gratitude." Preacher opened his arms, and smiled a smile that said 'trust me, I have your best interests at heart.' His eyes, and kindly grandfatherly appearance made one want to instinctively trust him.

"Ki shi shi shi, your skills put me to shame. Goodwill is only one of my goals. I still don't know the extent to my healing abilities. Today is one of those tests."

"Very well my Lord." Ending our hushed conversation, Preacher turned to the crowd before us.

"Let the festivities begin!"

* * *

It was after a long day that I returned to my base. With a weary smile, I took stock of what I'd learned earlier in the day. Number one, stuffing a shadow into someone doesn't remove scars or burns, however, they are reduced in size, and the damage they caused is healed. Two, diseases can't be cured, however, the effects can be mitigated. A man with cancer was returned to the peak of his health, however, upon further analysis by Dr. Hogback, it was discovered he still had cancer…Third, limbs, teeth, eyeballs, or any appendage could not be regrown. However, I could cure the blind, deaf, and mute. Not to mention any damage done to those and any other sensory organs. Finally, any physical wound could be healed within seconds. In conclusion, I still needed to conduct more tests. Such as limb reattachment, or eyeball re-integration.

For this endeavor, I opted to use the shadows of average citizens. The shadow I used the other day to heal the crippled woman had increased by a mere centimeter. It was still missing a large chunk, and was much smaller in size. I spent upwards of 10 million beri today bribing the citizens to be my guinea pigs. But the price was worth it. If I were to continue to recycle shadows, I have a theory that they have some sort of recharge time. With that in mind, I'm not going to use the shadows from Impel Down for anything but emergency's or if I find a fitting host body.

"Haah~" With a yawn, I stretched my arms. With a look outside, I saw it was pouring buckets.

"Red, get me something to help me sleep."

"Right away Moria-sama!"

…

I sat at my table, enjoying a nice juicy burger. Something I hadn't had in what felt like ages. Looking down at my phone, my friend had sent me a funny gif.

Suddenly, darkness enveloped me, and I was trapped in a pit. Hundreds if not thousands of voices, from all age groups and genders screamed at me. The sheer cacophony was stunning. This. Is this a dream?

"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!"

"DIE! DIE! DIE!"

"I want to see my children, please!"

"I never had children, I'm still a virgin!"

"Please Mr. will you let me out?"

"Shame! Shame! A pox upon your house! Shame!"

"**OUT! OUT! OUT!" **The voices began to chant in unison until all other pleas were drowned out.A swarm of shadow beings swarmed me, each reaching a hand in my direction. Pleading for salvation.

With a gasp, I jumped to my feet, wide awake. Prepared for a fight, I drew my swords and a dozen shadow javelins had manifested themselves around me instantaneously. My heart was racing a million times per second as I scanned my surroundings, searching for a threat.

"Ah ha ha. Just a dream." As if to accentuate my statement, overbearing peels of thunder rang out above the island. Bright streaks of lightning poured across the sky like a fountain. The smooth pitter patter of rain I had found so calming in the past had disappeared, and been replaced by monsoon like intensity.

"Congratulations on another excellent nightmare, Moria-sama!" Red saluted.

I glanced at him, and have never before felt like kicking someone as much as I did at that moment.

"Yes, it was such a great nightmare, I don't think I could possibly sleep anytime soon. Summon those three Zombie Generals of mine. Fu Manchu, Silver Knight, and Captain John. I have some energy I need to work off."

Twenty minutes later, Red returned in a sprint.

"Apologies, Moria-sama! The castle is so large, it took forever to return!"

I waved him off, and turned my attention to the three new arrivals.

"Do we finally get to kill something?" Fu Manchu directly stated what was on his mind.

"Ja ja ja, typically I'd disagree with my amigo here, but he's right! Besides, we're already out of the good vino!" Captain John raised a bottle to his lips, and only the tiniest of drops entered his skeletal mouth. With a grimace, he tossed the empty bottle to the side. Before it could touch the ground, Red dashed forward, and began juggling the bottle in a frenzy to make sure it didn't spread glass shards across the floor.

"Not this time. Tonight, you're my sparring partners. I need to test your combat capabilities before I send you out on any sort of missions."

"No slaughter to wet my thirst? A shame." John looked longingly at the still juggling bottle in Red's possession.

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can kill. We leave now." Fu Manchu crossed his arms and gave me a look that said 'don't test me on this.'

"Hn." Silver Knight nodded and gave a shallow bow.

"It's settled. On my flight to Goa Kingdom, I spotted a small island nearby that will be perfect for our spar. Climb aboard." Summoning a slightly larger platform than usual, I gathered the three generals, and prepared to set off.

Right as I took off, I heard a shattering noise, and Red's deadpan reaction.

"Ah, I dropped it."

"REEED!"

* * *

**AN: 1 dollar equals 100 beri. Basically, every volunteer got paid 100 dollars although the One Piece world is basically feudal/industrial revolution Japan, so money is worth slightly more I guess. **

**Would it be in poor taste to unleash zombie plague ships given current world events? Keep in mind, you're looking at the man who in November, made a Witch class character, named her Virus Empress, and created the guild Corona-chan. Who knew it'd blow up like that? **

**Also, I'm very seriously considering adding some secondary antagonists down the line inspired by fiction. Characters that would fit in universe, like Cervantes from soul caliber, Sticky Beard from KND (I'm thinking this guy could be an ex-husband of Big Mom), and Maui from that Disney movie (He even sinks in water!). Believe it or not, One Piece has a rather limited caste of detailed characters. I'd practically be making OC backstories for 90% of canon characters if I stuck strictly to the source. **


	27. Chapter 27

"Again!" Pushing my bulk off the mud slicked ground, I charged forward. Blades extended perpendicular to the side, I swiped them left, right, and diagonally more than a dozen times in a second. My target evaded every attack. A well-timed parry saw blood seep from my side.

Gasping for breath, and grimacing at the sting in my side, I didn't even have a moment to collect myself. The sound of a whistling blade was all the warning I had before I was forced to dodge. Five steps to my left, an axe buried itself into the soil. The rain had been knocked up by the impact, dispersing fog every which way. The strong fog bank quickly filled the vacuum, obscuring what little vision I had left on this moonless night.

Jumping away, I gave myself more than a dozen meters of space between my enemy. I struggled to get my ragged breathing in order as I stitched my wound shut.

"Ah!" A shark gasp of pain involuntarily escaped my lips. My shoddy stitch work had pinched some nerves. I could barely see my hands, much less accurately stitch my side.

Within seconds of my exclamation, the rapid pace of two hunters rushed towards my direction.

In a panic to get more time, and do a better patch job, I jumped again, away from the hunters. Midair, my leg was caught, and I was slammed into the ground. With a quick roll, I barely dodged the incoming slice. Flailing with my sword, I met resistance, and pushed my opponent back. Somersaulting from the ground, I struck downward in an overhanded power strike. My swords shoved my enemy into the ground. Before I could capitalize on my position, the other two had arrived.

Surrounded on three sides, I kicked forward, tossing the closest enemy a good distance. I turned just in time to block each attack with one sword apiece. The force of their attacks forced me to my knees. My swords shook from the exertion, all my earlier activities had ate up a large amount of my stamina, and I was running on fumes. My arms shook to hold them back, where as their arms held steady. No sign of weariness could be seen in their faces. They were relentless.

"RAAA!" With a shout, I mustered my reserves, and pushed them off me. Thrusting forward, I used my superior reach to score a blow. The one on my left blocked the attack, and fell backwards. My right sword met stubborn resistance; the loud shriek of metal rang out. My sword just barely pierced the armor. With another great exertion of strength, I attempted to slice downward, but it was futile. Realizing my opponent was readying his axe for another attack, I was in a dilemma. Abandon my sword, and potentially this fight. Or leave it in the armor, and dodge the strike.

The axe was swinging down as I made my decision.

With a yowl of pain, blood splashed across my chest. In response, I picked up the armored opponent, and slammed him into the ground several times. The other two had recovered, and were upon me in no time at all. Still holding onto the struggling armored enemy, I used him as a weapon. The armor crashed into the nearest of the two.

Madness began to spin in my eye. I disregarded all pain, charging towards the enemy standing in my path, I feinted to the left. Reaching with my right sword, I viciously shoved upwards past his guard. The sword pierced his chest, and with a cry of victory, I shoved down. Tearing him in twain.

"Stay down!" I cheered jubilantly, stomping him into the mud.

My victory was short lived however, I crouched and vomited blood all over the ground. Utterly spent, I fell to my knees. My mind was a hazy mess as two burry figures walked into my peripheral. With the coming dawn of morning, their blurry figures gradually became clearer and clearer.

"Ja ja ja, look at what you did to our mustache man. If you cut just a few inches higher, we'd be down a comrade." A mud caked Captain John stood to my side. His clothes were all but tatters, and several sections of bone and muscle were held together by thinnest pieces of skin.

Blood dribbled down my chin as I gasped. My darkened vision began to clear up after coughing up a few more mouthfuls of blood. My hands trembled, and face paled at the blood loss. I closed my eyes in concentration and began to sew my chest tight.

"Shut up John! My name is." Fu Manchu began right when a peel of thunder interrupted him.

"Remember it!" The sorry state of the mustached warrior was splayed upon the ground. A brackish substance sank into the mud around him, quickly diluting in the surrounding rainwater.

"Ja ja ja, even as weak as boss is without his devil fruit, he _still _got you. Where's your warrior pride Mustache?" John cackled, and clacked his teeth together in mockery.

"We've been doing this all night, of course he'd learn some of my moves! Besides, visibility was so bad, it's no wonder one of his attacks got through. A lucky hit! That's all it was." Fu Manchu hotly retorted.

"So, which is it, he saw through your moves, or you were so incompetent, that even with observation haki, you let him hit you. Or that even with armament haki, you couldn't block! Way I see it, whichever one's the truth, you're just an incompetent has-been. You bring shame to your name."

"You, you, you! A warrior speaks not with words, but with his sword, dieee!" Fu Manchu crawled towards John at speed one wouldn't expect from a cripple.

"Ja ja ja ja! Boss could take inspiration from you for new recruits. We'll call them crawlers. They can bite at our enemy's ankles!"

"Graa!" A frustrated Fu Manchu chased after John.

Like that, an hour had passed.

"Haaah." Releasing a sigh, I opened my eyes to the early morning sunlight. The clouds had parted, and scattered showers fell upon my face.

Pulling myself up from the mud, a large suction pop echoed about the clearing I found myself in. Fallen trees, shattered rocks, and small sized canyons littered my surroundings. Still ponds were filled to the brim by last night's heavy rain. Looking down, a large indent had been created by my massive body. My tattered clothes were drenched in mud, blood and water. Taking a look at my opponents, I had mixed feelings.

Shadow stitches held John's left arm and left leg to his body. Many of his muscles were exposed, and the skin was raw in some spots. Fu Manchu's state brought a smile upon my face, but that quickly dropped when I beheld Silver Knight. During my fights throughout the night, I had only scored glancing blows, the deepest I'd hit was a millimeter deep groove on his side before the nights final fight. In the final fight, I caused a hole about the size of two fingers where the chest is. Evidently my sword didn't go too deep. I knew that armor is supposed to stop weapons, but in this anime world, I expected my overwhelming strength to pierce the suit.

As I was observing him, Silver Knight nodded in my direction, and turned back towards the two clowns.

A wide grin broke out on my face, I really lucked out with these three. My grin morphed into a wince when the pain in my side flared up.

* * *

"Alright you lot, go get yourselves stitched up by Hogback. Tell him it's a priority, we're going at it again tonight. And someone grab Kenji and Saga!" Back in my office, I dismissed my three most powerful zombie general's.

"I'll get them for you Moria-sama." Yellow climbed out from underneath a table. Brush and dustpan in hand.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the little guy's sudden appearance. I should really make it a habit to better scan my surroundings. At the very least I should scan for the shadows nearby with shadow reading.

Relaxing into my beanbag chair, I lifted my sore arms behind my head, and began to relax. A bowl of fruit was on the table across the room. Next to the same table, Yellow still stood.

"Today Yellow."

"R-right away Gecko, uhh, I mean Captain! No that's not right..what did Red say. Uhh, right away Moria-taicho!" With a bow, Yellow scurried off to carry out his orders.

"Now where was I." Right when I was about to have Doppleman grab the bowl of fruit, I was interrupted.

"Captain, it's good that you came back when you did! These two troublemakers made me work overtime! This morning I went to Goa Kingdom to review the reports, and upon my return, what do I find? Your new recruits, Kenji, and Saga have ruined a section of wall, and a large portion of forest!" An irate Absalom dragged a bloodied Saga and Kenji, tossing them to their knees.

"Did you do this to them?!" I looked at Absalom in shock.

"Hmph! I would've done much worse if I was here!" Absalom crossed his arms.

"No, I found them like this. It's only been two days since we acquired this crewmate, Saga. He was heavily wounded from your fight, and Kenji fared little better after his fight with that springman. But these two brats _still _managed to make trouble on the island. I'm telling you Captain, they're bad seeds. Let me off them now." Absalom's crimson cat eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he fingered invisible guns held to his sides.

"Ki shi shi shi, they're hot blooded youths, I remember what I was like when I was there age. It's only natural for them to see who's stronger between the two. You leave them to me, all your focus should be on our finances." I grinned Absalom's way, and turned towards the two young men. Kenji glared up at me from the ground, his green eyes held little warmth. However, I couldn't take him seriously as a bandage across his nose gave him a strong childish vibe. On the other hand, Saga's cold, disinterested gaze made me think of a snake waiting for its prey. Keeping these two at odds with one another could only be in my best interest.

"I thought I made it _clear _gentleman. Don't. Mess. With. My. Stuff." With each word, shadows began to manifest themselves. Completely blotting out the sides of the room. The shadows slowly snaked themselves around the two's arms, and legs. With a snap of my finger, they were forced to kowtow. Their foreheads slammed into the granite bricks, causing spiderlike fractures to spread randomly across the floor.

"It wasn't my fault, the bi-polar freak started it! He was talking about Justice one moment, and then asking me how strong I was the next!" Kenji rose to complain.

"Sh shh." Doppleman stood behind him, and forced Kenji back on his knees.

"I'm not interested in excuses. You're a member of the Thriller Bark Pirate's now. My crew. My _family._ I expect quarreling and jockeying between family members. Celebrate it even. However, what you two did is cut into my bottom line. Oh sure, 'it can easily be fixed by zombie labor' a casual observer may think. What they don't think is that these tree's, these stone walls, the material has to come from somewhere. The zombies will be occupied with manual labor soon.

I admit, it's a small price to pay, something I barely care about. The thing is. It's the principal of the matter. You two agreed not to harm my things when I signed you aboard. And a man without principal is worthless before my eyes. Today, you destroy my tree's, my walls. Tomorrow, you kill a couple zombies, maybe a ship. The next day, my generals, my very home!

You keep pushing, and pushing. At first, you start with something small. It's a gentle nudge, no harm no foul. Next, a light touch, and finally, a push with so much violence, _someone_ is going to fall." During my speech, I gently nudged Saga, upping the strength in the shadows binding him until I pushed him onto his back.

"I am your Captain. Hate me, curse me, spit at me, I don't care. But don't you ever, _ever_ break my things again. The zombies, this island, my crew, _everything_ is mine. _You_ are mine. Don't you push me, lest I push you with twice the force. Do we understand each other?" The shadow of an inmate slowly crawled over me as I stared deep into their eyes. In their eyes, I saw an image, he was a parody of a man. His form rippled, as if he could pounce at any moment. Most stunning were his pupils, small violet dots surrounded by a sea of white. It was like the image of the devil reflected in their eyes.

I blinked, and released my hold on them. Sunlight rushed into the room, filling it with great gusto, like a man on the verge of drowning greedily gasping for air. My damaged appearance from last night's training was once again full on display.

Three people muttered to themselves after my display.

"Evil...I have to protect Gramps.."

"I want that. No, I _need that._"

"Captain's back.."

"So how'bout it then?" My crooked grin, and previous drama had set them on edge.

"I'll fight for you, Captain. After you destroyed that island, I have no doubts." A grim faced Kenji grit his teeth, and was the first to submit. This time, his defiance had greatly diminished.

"Destroyed an island?" Saga asked with interest.

"No matter, I'll destroy two islands!" Saga grinned a bloodthirsty grin, but quickly lost his smile when Doppleman clubbed him on the back of the head.

"Hmph, you already won my sword. You know where I stand."

"Says the man on his knees apparently." Kenji snickered.

"Boy! I'll get you back for that explosion attack of yours!" Saga turned towards Kenji in a rage.

Seeing where this was going, I stopped it ahead of time from devolving into another childish brawl. Managing this group of personalities was draining to say the least.

"Alright, enough is enough. You two are prospective officers in my crew. I know, I know, it's a great honor, and one you don't feel worthy enough to accept. But I see greatness in the both of you. Kneeling on the ground before me is a privilege few will experience. You're blessed, truly. If anything, today has furthered my expectations. I know you're both so eager to show off, like a peacock in heat.

So, I've prepared a little test. I have a mission that'll be one step further in proving yourselves. The Goa Kingdom sits upon Dawn Island this is already a good sized island to begin with.. Additionally, the kingdom encompasses a chain of small islands, an archipelago if you will. This land is filled with pirates, privateers, and bandits. This land is _my _land. Absalom, hand them the map."

"Your orders are as follows. Exterminate all pirates, and bandits within the islands on this map. The island dyed in red is off limits, it's under the protection of Garp the Hero. Attack it, and make sure you suffer a terrible end. As I'm not a heartless employer, this mission has a reward. I'll grant any one request I deem to be equal in value to 5 million beri to whoever clears out the most bandits."

"Gramps, everyone…" A fire was lit in Kenji's eyes at my statement.

"Power." Saga looked tantalizingly at his sword.

"You have several mission parameters, and options. One, don't cause needless civilian death or draw the attention of the Marine's. Two, ff you capture the bandits alive and turn them into me, it will count as two kills. Three, you may turn them in to the Marine's for a bounty. Ten percent of all sales are yours to keep. Fourth, and finally, every mostly intact corpse retrieved is worth one fourth of a kill. The time limit is one month starting next week. The both of you need to recover, and Saga, you're on probation." With another smile, I pushed Saga into the shadows, and closed the blinds. Seconds later, I snipped his shadow, and absorbed it into my body.

"Yellow, get Red to take Saga to his room. Make sure he doesn't step out into the sun now." I kicked the now unconscious Saga into Yellow's tiny arms.

"Everyone leave, it's time for me to rest." Right when I was about to go to sleep, my stomach grumbled. Maybe some of that fruit would be good right about now. Opening my eyes, I summoned Doppleman to finally grab the fruit bowl when someone coughed to my side.

"What is it now Absalom?" I tried hard to keep the irritation out of my voice.

"News Captain. Germa 66 has received our message, and will be here within the hour."

Yellow, who had been outside on the balcony came rushing in.

"Moria-sama! Moria-sama! A castle on the backs of giant snails is headed this way! What should we do, I don't think the gates of Thriller Bark could fit all of them!"

Purru purru purru…purru purru purru…purru purru purru.

Sharing a glance, Absalom reached into his pocket to answer the Den Den Mushi.

"We're here. Open the gate, and get the money ready. One beri less than the total we agreed upon, and this island is gone. Who's that standing next to you, _Moria_?!" The den den mushi wore a yellow helmet, and sported a pointed mustache. It's eye stalks eyed me up and down with a clear look of disdain.

"Have the Shichibukai fallen so low? An utter disgrace to the institution. To think I was going to have a meeting with you on the matter_. _My son will handle the business dealings in my stead. Shabby appearance aside, your money's still good. Hmph." The man who I could only assume was Judge Vinsmoke snorted, and hung up without so much as a please or thank you.

My eye began to twitch, and I had an awful taste in my mouth. This fruit was overly ripe!

"Bleh! Absalom, you handle this matter, I can't be bothered with arrogant noble's."

"Aren't you technically nobility now Moria-sama?" Yellow casually asked before took taking the fruit bowl away, and leaving the room.

"Ah, hah, ha. I better get to work than, see you around Captain!" Absalom practically ran after Yellow to leave the room. In his haste, he left a newspaper on the table.

On the front page cover, a picture of Luffy and Ace battling pirates was front and center.

"Hmm, is Luffy going to attempt to reunite with his crew still now that Ace isn't dead?" I curiously scratched my chin before covering myself in a blanket. Time for sleep.

* * *

"Easy. Easy. I said easy, godamnit!"

**Thuuump!**

"Okay, now lift it again!"

"Ugh. What time is it?" I woke up to a familiar sound I didn't think I'd hear again. Jackhammers pounded away, cranes lifted and lowered cargo. It was the joy of construction. This was a sound I couldn't escape even in a fantasy pirate land.

Taking a peak outside, I was shocked. The bare bones of the factory were more than halfway done. The concrete structure had been formed, and all that was missing were windows and doors. While this surprised me, it wasn't totally stunning. I'll be impressed if they can stick to their deadline of a week. Constructing, and installing machinery isn't any easy task.

It was early evening, and I decided I didn't want to deal with these loud noises. Looking down at my tattered shirt, I thought about changing into a new one, but this set would get ruined anyways, so why bother. I might've cared if I was going about business or was going to meet someone.

A strong image is key to leadership after all. People respected people like Zoro or Mihawk just because of how they _look_. Hell, a man in my former world pretended to be a doctor, an attorney, teaching assistant, and co-pilot successfully for years. He flew on more than 250 flights! This can largely be attributed to his uniform, and demeanor. Now, I may be an obese monsterman, and could likely scare anyone, regardless or perhaps because of my tatters. However, any charisma I might have goes out the window in the face of strangers. Clothes make the man and all that.

I took a look in my room's mirror. "I could lie to myself, and say I don't care what other people think. And to a degree, I don't. I'm an obese giant, why should I care? At the same time, I've got to have a little class." With a self-deprecating smile, I changed into a new pair of clothes.

After summoning the zombies for training, I took them to the island we had been at previously.

"Begin!" This time I incorporated Saga's sword style, and footwork into my technique.

"Ha!" With a thrust, I scored a glancing blow on John.

Grinning, I pushed them back, again and again. Since it was sparring, and I didn't want to destroy them, I pulled my blows from complete destruction. Hours had gone by, and I was gasping for breath. Meanwhile, the three zombies had unlimited stamina, their attacks were relentless.

"Has it been another hour? Okay, take ten everyone!" I fell on my ass, breathing hard.

"Ja ja ja, who needs a break?"

"A warrior never backs down! Not even in death!"

"…"

Like this, five days had passed by.

In the dawn's early morning, I sat cross legged, meditating. I took in every bird's chirp, the sound of the insects buzzing, a frog croaking, the splash of a fish…the shouts of men.

Men?

"Haha ha! One of my penpals in Boobies Weekly wrote that his boss said one of the strongest swordsman in the world came from East Blue! He said _you're_ from East Blue, Captain! What an idiot! Like anyone strong could come from here!"

"Oi, you got something to say?"

"Ah, ah, Yasopp-senpai! You can put the gun down, I didn't mean it, didn't mean it!"

"Now now, it's an honest mistake! Plenty of strong men have come from East Blue. Captain came from here, and he knew his way around a sword."

"O-Oh! I forgot that the King of the Pirates is from Logue Town! I'll message my penpal in next week's issue!"

"Talking about Captain brings up memories. Heh, let's party some more!"

"OHHHHH!"

It was at this point, that I knew someone important was walking up the beach. Looking down at my tattered clothes, I looked left and right in a panic. Clothes, clothes, clothes! Ah! I've got it! I'm always wearing a dozen or so shadows for my shadow armor, my time limit now is almost twenty minutes. If I wear a singular shadow, I could probably quadruple my time! Worst case if a fight breaks out, I add more shadows and run away! In fact, all this time spent thinking, I can just run away now! Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll just scoop these zombies up, and run away!

"Gecko Moria, as I live and breathe! Another famous man from West Blue! While we're on the subject, do you know who else is a famous pirate from West Blue? Curiel-san. I heard you had quite the encounter with him." At this, the man with red hair, Yonko, and one of the strongest people on the planet gave me a look.

What felt like eons was in actuality a look lasting no more than three seconds.

"Not one snowflake in an avalanche is innocent. Be it voluntary or forced, anyone in war is a tragic figure, while also inflicting tragedies onto others. This is the sadness and glory known as war. That being said, I have one very important question for you."

To the side, some of Shanks's crewmates openly gaped at me. Whether it was my identity, or my appearance, shadow reading told me it was a mixture of both. I didn't dare attempt to read Shanks, or any of his senior crew. Who knew if they already noticed my actions with their observation haki.

To the side, Benn Beckman smoked a cigar staring off into the distance with apathy. Lucky Roux held his trademark smile, and patted his melon cap. Yasopp openly glared at me, sliding his finger across his throat.

During the lull in conversation, I had already sent Doppleman far away, ready to abandon my zombies, and escape with my life. However, I was sweating bullets, if things turned south, my island was a mere thirty minute flight away, easily reachable by boat. Considering Shanks fought Kaido in canon, and sailed across a good portion of the grandline in a morning to reach Marineford, I knew he could sail fast.

"Wanna party with us?" Shanks had a goofy grin on his face as he held a bottle of booze out in my direction.

* * *

**AN: I'm really excited for next chapter. I have an important fight planned that will kick off the next arc. This kingdom building stuff will keep going on in the background, but there's going to be a new threat. **

**One of the new Shichibukai should also be officially introduced in the next three? chapters. A few of you may've even guessed at his identity. **


	28. Chapter 28

"Puru puru puru."

Ahh, my head. Where is that god awful noise coming from?

"Puru puru puru…puru puru puru."

Opening my eyes, the early morning sunshine crested over the horizon, and cut through the haze of night. I sat up from my patch of grass, looking about. Sprawled around me, in every direction were a motley bunch of pirates. Looks like they're passed out drunk from last night's revelry.

"Puru puru puru."

Lord have mercy, my head! Last night might've been more wild then I remember. Ugh, besides the loss of control, this is why I didn't drink. However…when a Yonko says drink, you drink! I reached into my pocket, pulled out a shadow, and absorbed it. Hangover cured! Now then, where is this bothersome noise coming from?

"Puru puru puru."

Ah. It's my den den mushi! Let's see what's so pressing that they called this early in the morning. Pulling the snail out, I went to answer the call, when an arm stopped me mid motion.

"Yo." Standing before me, the grinning redhead, Shanks, casually gripped my arm, preventing it from moving. I felt a pressure settle over me, stronger than anything I'd ever faced before.

"Ah!" I flinched; my entire body shook in a moment of panic. Whitebeard's fist was vividly placed in my imagination the moment I laid eyes on the Yonko.

"Some party last night, I'd heard rumors your crew could throw down with the best of them. I didn't believe them, but now that I've experienced it, seeing is believing!" I wore a big smile, trying to recover from my goof. The entire time, Shanks's arm didn't move from it's spot, restraining my movement.

"You know, I'd be inclined to believe you, but those are some tall words coming from a snitch."

I started to sweat. Was this it? "You misunderstand!"

"Puru puru puru"

"Of course, what you told us about Teach last night sure was enlightening." Shanks spoke over me, and tightened his grip. My whole arm, no, my entire body felt like it was in an immovable vice.

At this point, I was desperate. I licked my lips, and tried to flatter Shanks. "Ki shi shi, and everyone around the world says that people from the East Blue are weak cowards, you showed them."

"Ha ha ha ha ha! The guy's will get a hoot out of this one!" Raucous laughter spewed out of Shanks' mouth. His grip slightly loosened, as a few tears spilt down his face.

I grinned along. I always thought Shanks was an easy going, laid back guy. Success!

"Puru puru puru."

Then the pressure came back three times as intense, quick as lighting. My pupils dilated as I felt shock from the sudden and unexpected pain. Any more pressure, and the arm breaks!

"No Gecko Moria, **I **am from the West Blue. As are **you**. I _know _how you operate. The world may have forgotten about you when you fled to the Florian Triangle, tail tucked behind your legs. It's been over a decade, but I haven't forgotten. Did you really think I would come here, to this random island in the middle of nowhere to party, when there's much more fun to be had in the Grand Line?" Shanks' overly wide smile from earlier had transitioned into a face I could only describe as being the embodiment of 'serious.'

I'm not going to say it outloud, but yeah. I kind of did think he decided to randomly party here.

"That look in your eye. It's telling me you thought I did come to this island randomly to party, am I right?"

How did he-

"How did I know? It doesn't matter, what matters is this. I know you, your modus operandi. Wherever you go, death and destruction are sure to follow. Some friends of mine told me about your little operation here in East Blue. I think we've got ourselves a little, shall we say, conflict of interest. You see, many of the islands here, in East Blue, are under my protection. I'll allow you to play your little games in Goa Kingdom, you couldn't be much worse than the previous ruler. However, step one toe out of line, and don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Puru puru puru."

"That call sounds important, you should take it. Nice clothes by the way." Releasing my arm, and resuming his stereotypically wide grin, Shanks walked away, past his passed out crew, and took up conversation with Yasopp.

The moment he let go of my arm, I began to rapidly inhale and exhale air. It felt like an insurmountable weight had been lifted off my back.

Looking down, I finally decided to answer the call.

"MORIA-SAMAAAA! MORIA-SAMAAAAAA! MORIA-SAMAAAAAAAA!"

"Stop shouting! Who is this, Kumashi?!"

"Hurry, hurry Perona is in trouble!" On the other end, Kumashi let loose a panicked tone I never could've imagined from his usual, gruff voice.

"Slow down, slow down! What's the situation!" I tried to get a handle on things, and figure out what was going on. At the same time, I looked around for John, Silver Knight, and Fu Manchu.

"It's bad! The mission you sent Perona on ended in success, we easily captured the two you sent us to retrieve! We even had a bonus, and found a third, unexpected target! However, we hit a snag, when this swordsman found out we work for you! He slaughtered the entire force surrounding Perona, and captured her as prisoner. I was only allowed to leave, because Perona begged the man to let me go. He agreed, but only if I would contact you…I've been calling you since yesterday! I got in touch with Absalom-sama, since you didn't pick up. He's sending a relief force! Please, please come here and rescue Perona! _You_ more than anyone has to save her! I'll never forgive you if she dies, you hear me. You hear me, Gecko Moria!" Kumashi begged me over the den den mushi. The snail cried tears, and looked utterly pathetic.

"Okay! I'll be there soon! No one takes from me without paying the price!" A vicious expression emerged on my face. Being suppressed like I just did by Shanks hurt my pride, and had made me furious at my powerlessness. Whoever it is that's threatening my crew, oh hoh hoh, they'll pay alright.

"John! Fu Manchu! Silver Knight! Get over here! We're leaving!"

"Ahh what, but boss, I'm about to win this drinking contest!" Bottle in hand, John sat across a table from Lucky Roo. Hazy memories from last night told me that the two had been drinking since the party started.

"I win! Better luck next time John! HAAaaaaaaa!" Lucky Roo cheered himself before falling over to the side, passed out drunk.

Fed up with his insubordination, I directed all of my willpower at his shadow, and commanded him to fall in line. I felt a strong resistance, he _really _wanted to win this drinking contest. However, my will was stronger, fortifying my powers, John slowly stood up, and marched himself over to my position.

The other two quickly fell in line, even Fu Manchu was silent.

"We're flying towards the direction of this vivre card. A valued member of my crew has been kidnapped. This is a rescue mission boys, prepare for a slaughter." A grim line spread across my face. Whoever it was threatening me, they must've known about my Shichibukai status, and were challenging me regardless of the fact. Whoever this was, I was prepared to crush them. But if it turned out to be a trap set by a much stronger opponent, or one in which I was vastly outnumbered, would I be prepared to abandon Perona? I clenched my fists, frustrated at the unknown.

"Ja ja ja, lighten up boss, all I wanted to do was drink! Now I've lost all reputation as a man!" John raised his arms melodramatically into the air.

"Idiot! Can't you see him! His clenched fist! The deadeye expression. Can't you smell it?! The seething hatred, ready to boil out of the pot! You didn't see what happened earlier because you were too busy drinking, but his pride as a man is on the line! He is ready to go to war! Then it turns out, some fop has stolen his baby girl?! Now isn't the time for your childish games!" Fu Manchu thwacked the back of John's head.

"Hm" Silver Knight grunted in approval.

"Not you to Silver Knight!" John looked let and right in amazement.

"We set off now!" Forming a large enough surfboard to carry us, I ferried the trio at mach speeds towards our destination.

During the journey to Perona's rescue, I reflected upon what Shanks had said. I felt stifled, just when everything was looking up for me, just as I'd achieved nearly every goal I'd set out to achieve, I'd been pushed down. The entire conversation, if I could even call it that was Shanks laughing in my face and saying "What can you do? Want to fight about it?" It was infuriating, and now, with this upcoming fight, would I even be _allowed _to go all out. If I destroy the island, will Shanks come after me? A part of me wanted to do it out of spite, but my rational side reeled me back in. Destroying islands wantonly wasn't even _my _m.o. **I **am not the Gecko Moria that Shanks knew.

Besides, destroy to many islands, openly kill to many people, and I'll have the World Government breathing down my neck. I'll take that mans warning with a grain of salt. Don't wantonly kill civilians, especially Yasopp's home village, and Luffy's home village, and I should be fine. Some of these pirates, I swear, they're just as bad as the Marine's when it comes to Justice.

Like that, two hours had past, and we arrived at our destination. From the distance, I could see the island Perona's vivre card was pointing towards. It was an island of many hills, and green valley's. As I entered the islands perimeter, I flew low to the ground. The tug on the vivre card became even stronger the closer I got.

"You three, disembark here, these are your orders…"

"Ah what."

"This is dishonorable."

"…"

"Shut up, and just do it!" After dropping the three of them off, I now walked to my destination. Entering a large valley, there was endless green before me, not a single tree obscured my vision. Half an hour of walking later, I came to the middle of the valley.

There meditating on a mat was a middle aged man. He wore a light grey gi that had a symbol of crossed swords embroidered around his left chest area. His black hair was in a ponytail, and the serene smile on his face combined with the reading glasses gave him a disarming appearance. If it wasn't for the sword resting across his lap, it wouldn't be any stretch of the imagination to think the man was a harmless Uncle enjoying the morning air.

I glanced to the side, and a furious looking Perona squirmed about. She was tied firmly by some rope, and had her mouth gagged.

"Shimotsuki Kōshirō" The man stood, and bowed in my direction. With a wave of his hand, he drew his sword, and cut Perona's bonds, resheathing the sword in less than a second.

This casual act of his made me focus on him. That speed of his was unreal, comparable to the speed of my shadows, or Admiral Kizaru's light attacks.

"You're in trouble now you creep! Moria-sama, kick this guys ass! He's a big meanie, and slaughtered all the zombies I brought over! All the cuties of mine that I brought from the Garden! Gone!" Perona stood up from her bonds, and shouted loudly at both me and the swordsman.

"Perona, go back to the ship. This is a serious matter, one you cannot handle."

"But-"

"No. This is not the time to be willful. Leave. _Now!_"

At my command, Perona looked at Kōshirō, turned to me, smiled, and ran away with all her might. I was happy to see her run at a fast pace without tiring out. A small smile appeared on my lips, no way she would lose to someone of Usopp's caliber ever again.

"Ahem. Touching as that moment may be, it's polite before conversation to introduce oneself. This girl here was quite rude, her speech, so vulgar, it was an assault upon the ears. Whoever raised her is quite the barbarian. Unfit for parenting in every regard." The mild mannered, middle aged man spoke with a friendly voice, no matter how cutting his words were.

I was about to respond when the man continued talking.

"Oh, but that's not why we're here, now is it? I must apologize, that was very unsightly of me. You're Gecko Moria, owner of the Shizāsouru, are you not?"

The Shiza what now? A bewildered look came upon my face.

"Oh. Oh you poor soul. You didn't know? This makes this whole affair so much worse. This beautiful blade has been in your possession for more than two decades, and its history is lost to you. How my culture has fallen so low." A look of pity came upon Kōshirō's face. For him, or me, I couldn't quite tell.

"You wield one of the twenty one great swords, an Ō Wazamono. Shizāsouru, the scissor soul, was forged by Shimotsuki Kōzaburō a master swordsmith. Be humbled, it is your honor to wield this blade."

The geniality, the friendly approachableness, and his utter disregard for those who lack manners. This man, Kōshirō, his voice is oddly soothing. He reminds me an awful lot of a certain brown haired, glasses wearing Shinigami from the anime, Bleach.

"So what, you kidnapped my crewmate, so you could see my sword?" At this, I drew my blades, and held them at the ready. Using shadow reading, I could tell that this man wanted to confirm something. Was I, Gecko Moria, worthy to wield a great sword forged by his family?

I had prepared myself for battle all this time, for a moment like today. For almost two weeks now, I had been training in nothing but the sword. Using the combined skills of all the shadows at my disposal, I solidified some of the sword skills I began learning way back before the battle of Marineford. For the last five days, I had been training with Saga's skills. Today, I would test all I had learned.

"Oh yes! You understand. A man's actions speak when words are unnecessary." Kōshirō unsheathed his own sword, tossing his scabbard to the side.

"My name is Shimotsuki Kōshirō, please treat me well." Kōshirō bowed.

During his bow, I lunged forward, my left sword cleaved downward, while my right plunged forward in a thrust.

Kōshirō easily evaded my attacks, going for a slice of my side. Seeing I couldn't dodge the strike, I swapped places with Doppleman. His blade struck Doppleman, slicing him into thousands of pieces. My heart palpitated, it felt as if I had lost a part of me. In a panic, I tried to reform my shadow, all to no avail. I began to panic, did Kōshirō use haki to disrupt Doppleman?

Within a moment, he was upon me. I had no time to think, but my instincts began to kick in. Dodge to the left! Block down. Block left, right, down, up. Jump! My body began to move on auto pilot. The constant sparring with the zombie generals had keyed me up to combat.

Although less than a minute had passed, I still had some time to think. I noticed that slowly, ever so slowly, my shadow began to reform. I felt that if I had time to concentrate, I could probably piece it back together in about a minute, maybe a bit longer. However, at this rate, I'd be lucky if it reformed after five, or ten minutes! Maybe even more!

Spinning in the air, I came down with both swords. In a mighty clash of power, Kōshirō held his single blade aloft with one hand. He began to push me back! For the first time since a Yonko, someone has pushed me back in a power struggle! With a heave, I was tossed away. My body crashed into the soil, creating a long furrow similar to that of one created by a farmers plow. I didn't have a moment of respite; he was upon me before my momentum was stopped by the hillside.

What speed! My eyes widened in shock; I did my best to block the incoming strikes. During my many spars, I had learned how to turn and twist my bulk, even plowing into the soil like I was now, I could dodge several of his strikes, turning the ones that connected into shallow cuts.

Blood seeped out of my now many open wounds, and flew every which way during Kōshirō's pursuit. I used my momentum to cartwheel away, and gain some space.

Kōshirō was faster, and physically stronger than me. Not to mention, a technically better fighter, every move of his limited the amount of energy exerted to the bare minimum. When I used shadow reading on him, it was as if he was one with his surroundings. Every strike I threw his way, it was as if it was predicted a minute in advance. I may as well be a snail in comparison to him. Nothing but a nuisance.

To hell with fighting as just a swordsman. I thought it would be good practice, but turns out, next to a bonafide sword master, my skills are worth piss. I began to strike at Kōshirō with my shadow attacks.

I began to hop backwards, creating more space between the two of us. I had no Doppleman to switch places with, and in this wide open field, there were precious few shadows for me to hop to. I decided to hold off on entering my shadow armour state, and created a surfboard shaped shadow. Jumping on, I sailed away, while firing javelins, and other shaped attacks at Kōshirō.

Adjusting his course, and without a pause in his stride at seeing my abilities, Kōshirō rushed towards me at unimaginable speeds. I did all I could to keep him from me. A hail of javelins spread from my position, backed up by a pack of birds, wolves, and all sorts of animals. Even a few spinning buzzsaws reminiscent of the destructo disc were thrown in. Kōshirō easily dodged, or sliced every attack to smithereens.

I stopped running, and stood still to concentrate. I formed thousands of shadow javelins, with a thought, I sent the storm his way. I generated wave after wave of attack, but they were all rebuffed. This wasn't going to work, I might have to chance Shanks' wrath, and utilize one of my ultimate techniques! I began to generate a mass of shadows above us, all the while, continuing with my attacks against Kōshirō. Soon, the sky was blotted out by a blob. Very few traces of light broke through the screen I had set up.

Kōshirō walked steadily in my direction, energy attacks began to emerge from his blade, and pierce towards my position. Was this ki?

When the energy attack reached me, I held out my blades. Impel Down prisoners, don't let me down now!

"Hn!" With a grunt, I met the energy attacks head on. In my attempt to coat my blades in defensive haki, I could feel an energy briefly coat both blades. Success! Over the course of the next minute, I maintained my defense, and directed the energy from the ki strikes to my sides. At the same time however, Kōshirō also successfully defeated my deluge of shadow javelins, and was almost upon me. Glancing into the sky, the amount of shadow I had generated wasn't as much as I had used to destroy Rock Fire Island, but it would have to do.

Through shadow reading, I could tell Kōshirō had something he wanted to say. I could also tell he was beyond furious, and barely winded. Covered in light wounds, I wasn't at my peak, but I wasn't that bad off either. If anything, my mental concentration was pushed to the limit, any delay in fighting was a welcomed one. Kōshirō stood a few meters away from me, I had stopped sending attacks his way to relax my mind. A frown marred his usually friendly looking face.

"You are a disgrace upon my family name. I was hoping a man with your reputation would be worthy of Shizāsouru. You do not deserve this blade. At first, I hoped to be honored by a fellow swordsman. If this would not come to pass, at the very least, I could take the blade, and bestow it to one more worthy. My honor, would no longer be besmirched. However, not only have you misused Shizāsouru, you, Gecko Moria, have so shallowly copied my family sword style, your act of disrespect not only harms my face, but that of the entire Shimotsuki clan. And that. That I cannot forgive. My name is Shimotsuki Kōshirō, may you find peace with the Shinigami." Kōshirō bowed once more, and strode forward.

I decided then, that since I was facing someone as strong as Kōshirō, I was going to kite backwards, and wear him out. Hopefully, I can launch a large attack, or catch him off guard.

Right when I was going to move upward into the sky, Kōshirō _moved _and sliced my surfboard in twain. I jumped from the crumbling platform, and formed shadow wings upon my back, intent on escaping into the sky. At the same time, creatures, big and small began to fall from the blob of shadow in the sky. A dragon made of shadow, the size of several busses roared, as it charged at Kōshirō.

The dragon was one of many creatures and shapes. Drills, buzzsaws, and javelins spun at crazy speeds as they descended towards the swordsman. Some attacks tore through the ground, to attack him from below, many that he dodged still had energy as long as I directed them, and turned around to attack him.

This still wasn't enough! Koshiro dodged at the perfect time, every time. The way he moved was perfect, many of my own attacks canceled each other out. A swarm of javelins collided with the dragon, dispersing it completely.

I could read from his shadow, the complete and utter contempt he had for me.

"Kōshirō! You expected, nay, hoped for a fight with a world class sword master! The Shimotsuki sword style you hold in such high praise is barely worth learning! One of my weakling crewmates, Saga taught it to me! Perhaps after this, I'll kill him for teaching me such a worthless sword style!" I tried to rile him up, and try to get any advantage I could.

"Now I know where that rude girl learned such foul speech. Barbarism has no place in cultured society." Kōshirō's glasses reflected brightly with the scattered sun, and I couldn't see his expression much with the limited light. However, with my abilities, I could tell one thing. The man was absolutely livid! I began to grin. Mission success!

A moment later, more than five hundred energy crescents blasted towards the mass of shadow I had floating in the sky. Each crescent was similar in size to the ones Mihawk had used to cut Aokiji's ice at the battle of Marineford.

"Oh shit!" I barely had time to dodge the strikes, before the shockwaves sent me tumbling to the ground. I flipped end over end, and slammed face first into the ground, creating a large crater in the already torn apart landscape.

Blood began to pop from my nose, mouth, and ears at the crazy amounts of pressure imbalances created by his attack.

Kneeling, and then standing up with great effort, I spit blood from my mouth to the side. I absorbed another shadow, healing my physical wounds. My use of haki from earlier, and the generation of such a large amount of shadows was beginning to take its toll on me. It was at this point, that I very seriously considered fleeing to fight another day. No one is born undefeatable. A loss, so soon after the humiliation from Shanks smarts something fierce. However, I did get Perona back, so it's not all bad.

"Prepare yourself." Was all I heard, before a flash of steel descended upon me.

"Damn…I distracted myself again." Was all I got out, before I fell onto my back. It felt like I had been cut down to the waist. Kōshirō moved to my fallen body, tossing my swords away.

"Now!" I distantly heard a shout. Turning my head to the side, I saw a hand emerge from the ground. Silver Knight's arm gripped Kōshirō's leg in a vice-grip. At the same time, both Fu Manchu, and John charged at him. Without any hesitation, Kōshirō cut his left leg off at the knee to avoid the incoming strikes.

My vision began to get dimmer and dimmer, a circle of darkness spread across my eyes, with every heartbeat, the circle of darkness beat like a drum. It slowly began to close, my vision cut off from nearly all light. All I could hear was my heart, beating furiously, and the faint clash of metal. Loud thumps, and explosions, sounded distant. Vibrations shook my body, and I was caked in a layer of dust. I tried my best to command my body to do something, anything, but it was unresponsive. I tried to command the shadows in my pocket to enter my body, to heal me. But nothing was happening! I began to panic, was this the end?!

Soon, all feeling began to leave my arms, not even the wetness or heat of my own blood could be felt. Am I dying? Resigned to my fate, I tried to rationalize my upcoming death. Maybe this is for the best, why fear death. How I became Gecko Moria is a mystery to me, it's unexplainable. Hopefully it's reincarnation, that sounds nice.

When I had this thought, my minds image was initially of my smiling parents from my past life. Peace is good. I smiled content, at peace with my death.

"**I HaaaaaaVEEEEee something FooORRr yOUuuuAh" **A crooked, and crusty voice sounded throughout my entire being. The voice reminded me of an old man, hoarse, and done with life, yet perverted, like the dirtiest pedophile seeking the flesh of the youngest boy. At the end of a narrow tunnel, a hunch backed creature crouched low to the ground. It's outline was grainy in the low light tunnel, I couldn't make out any distinguishing characteristics. All except one, its eyes were perfectly empty circles that seemed to go on forever.

I blinked my eyes, and turned away in fear.

"**mOrIa. I'lL sEe YoU soOOOOooooOOONnnAh"**

Is this what's waiting for me in the afterlife?! I WANT TO LIVE!

"**aWAkehna UP! gET UPAh!"**

NO, this won't be my fate! I CANNOT ALLOW THIS! With every fiber of my being, I resisted my death. Any peace of mind I had established last time was taken to the incinerator. I urged every iota of my being into living on.

"Hah hah hah" With a gasp, I came to. Light streamed into my vision, and the acrid smell of smoke filled the air. I breathed in and out rapidly, as my vision began to clear, the first thing I noticed was my size. I felt like I'd quadrupled in both weight and size. A monstrously large scar ran from my right shoulder down to my waist. I was so spent; my exhaustion was at its peak. At this point, all I wanted to do was sleep. But I had to know what happened. After taking my body into account, I began to look around. I saw a valley that was completely unrecognizable from an hour ago.

There wasn't a single spot of grass that hadn't been left unmarred from battle. Scorched earth was the least surprising thing about my surroundings. Not only that, hundreds of decayed limbs lay about the ground. Next to me was the motionless corpse of a giant animal zombie. One of my animal variant general zombies had been slain?

I gingerly raised myself from the ground, sitting down, I could see far and wide. These must have been the reinforcements Absalom sent for the rescue operation of Perona. I never realized he cared enough about her to send this many zombies! This is more than 2,000 zombies, the majority of our forces! Sadly for me, it was a killing field! Nothing but motionless corpses dotted the land as far as the eye could see. In the distance, a bloodied and legless Kōshirō battled with a nearly destroyed Silver Knight. Fu Manchu, and John were nowhere to be seen.

Upon my observation, Kōshirō looked over, and his expression turned into one of shock, and fury.

"You! You're still alive! How dare you!" Kōshirō began to furiously battle Silver Knight. I could tell that Silver Knight could last only a few more moves, then Kōshirō would come for me. In my current state, I wasn't overly confident in defeating him. Even in his fatigued and injured state, the man had me spooked. His skill with the sword, his martial prowess, it was terrifying.

However, now that he's distracted, this would be the perfect time to snatch his shadow! I looked around for my blade, but I couldn't find it! I'd never taken someone's shadow before without the help of my sword, the Shizāsouru! Can I take his shadow without the help of that blade? Only one way to find out!

Slowly, Kōshirō's shadow made it's way over to me.

"I know about your devil fruit Gecko Moria. It won't work on me!" Composure broken, Kōshirō turned towards me in a blitz.

"No!" Only a few more seconds, and his shadow would be within my grasp!

I saw the shadow of Kōshirō's blade descend, I closed my eyes, and prepared myself for a dance with the devil.

*CLANG* A large sound of metal clashing on metal screeched to the heavens.

Opening my eyes, Silver Knight had interposed himself between me and Kōshirō. The armour holding him together had been cut, slashed, and nicked in so many places during his fight with Kōshirō. Damaged as it was, Silver Knight's armament haki was so impressive, Kōshirō's sword only cut down from the crest of Silver Knight's helmet, to the base of his neck. With a thumbs up, Silver Knight fell to the ground. The shadow animating his body dissipated into the horizon.

"An admirable attempt, but ultimately futile. You _need_ Shizāsouru to remove my shadow. Without my family, your career as a pirate never would've began. You can view this as nothing more than a transaction. I'll be collecting upon years of rental fees. The price will be your life." Kōshirō wound up his arm to swing.

A loud tearing noise took place right when Kōshirō was about to bring his sword down.

Struggling in my hand was a little more then half of Kōshirō's shadow. I immediately absorbed the shadow. Looking on with glee, I saw Kōshirō's face lose all color. His sword clattered to the ground, as he got on his hands and knees. He wretched and barfed his breakfast all over the floor. Wiping his mouth, he shakily stood on his good leg, and wobbly moved to pick up his sword.

Why isn't he disappearing? The sky is bright with sunlight. Sun? Hello, sun!? SUN?!

"Let's do this, one last time. My name is Shimotsuki Kōshirō, prepare to die." He slowly walked towards me, I tried to summon Doppleman, but he was unresponsive for some reason. With my exhaustion, all I could do was summon a single blade of shadow. This is my last hope! It rushed towards Kōshirō, it was large enough to cut him in two. Just like always in this fight, he dodged at the most optimal moment.

With a genial smile, my killer brought his sword down.

*Shink*

With a genial smile, my would be killer smiled as blood dribbled to his mouth. A sword poked out of his chest where his heart is. Kōshirō took a step forward, raised his blade one last time, then fell to the ground, dead.

Looking left and right in befuddlement, who saved me, one of the zombies?

"I'm right here Captain." Appearing out of thin air, a serious looking Absalom held a bloodied blade. His clear-clear fruit had given him the perfect opportunity to save me.

Shimotsuki Kōshirō I would have loved to have had your shadow. As a learning tool, and placed within a zombie. Sadly, it was not to be.

"…It was a close one this time Absalom. You're my most reliable sailor. No one works harder to revive the crew than you. The Thriller Bark Island wouldn't run without you. I'm just a waste of space, always making trouble for you huh? Creating more and more work. Ha ha ha. Maybe we should just retire to the Florian Triangle, and relive our peaceful days." I gave myself a self-deprecating laugh. My nearest bout with death had shaken my resolve.

*Tcha* A loud slap rang out.

"With all due respect Captain, that's not true! You're not making trouble for me! After this fight, you can't go back to the same lazy ways! What was with that promise you made to me?! The promise you made to our crew? You said that the world was going to change. That we had to be prepared for it, or we'd be swallowed whole! You have the fire, don't lose it because of a set-back like this! So you lost many of the zombies, rebuild! You still have Hogback, you have Perona, you have those new recruits! You can still make it!"

"And I have you. Thank you Absalom, for sticking with a headstrong, idiot of a Captain. Thank you for setting my head straight, no man is an island unto himself."

"Glad you see it my way Captain."

"Good, we're on the same page. Now, clean up this mess." With a pat on Absalom's back, I fell to the ground, and went to sleep, utterly exhausted from the fight.

* * *

_**Meanwhile, in a land faraway**_

Within a dark, smoke filled room, gangsters, killers, and all sorts of people from the underworld congregated. Poker chips, bets, and other unique wagers had been placed on a board. Written in chalk, such bets as "less than 500 zombies is a two to one pay out." or "Defeat the knight in less than 100 strikes, 5 beri entry" "Moria begs for death, 500 beri." "Kōshirō lets him go, 10,000." were common. Inside the room where once there was gambling, and wild cheer, now, not a soul made a noise.

A young buxom, blue haired woman sat curled into a ball teary eyed, her cat eyes, and lightly freckled face were enough to entice any man. She rocked back and forth as she bit her thumbnail. On the screen in front of her projected by the den den mushi, the corpse of Shimotsuki Kōshirō lay on the ground, only a few steps away from the Shichibukai, Gecko Moria.

Someone went to erase the bets from the chalk board, breaking the silence of the room. The dealer rubbed the washcloth across the board only once before every eye was upon him. The dealer stopped his action, as soon as he noticed everyone's attention. However, it was too late. As the water spilt down the chalk, some of the words got jumbled, and it appeared like a new message had been spelt out.

**MORIA KILLS KŌSHIRŌ**

The table everyone sat at instantly shattered. Cups, saucers, and glasses flew into the air, shattering. Nearly everyone within the establishment fell to the ground, slumped and unconscious.

"Ozai, give the order to the Crazy 88's, I want _that man _dead. Post a bounty of 750 million beri's. Don't bother me over the next week, I'll be telling my Uncle's about this. And tell that _idiot_ Kyoshiro not to get in my way!"

"Yes boss." Ozai bowed.

Cowering in the corner near the chalkboard, the dealer had no clue what was going on. Why did everyone drop to the ground unconscious! Ah, maybe the boss would know.

"H-hey boss, what happened to everyone."

Walking up to him, the boss straddled his crotch. At first it was nice…is the boss coming on to me? But as soon as the pleasure came, the pain began.

"Ohh, we're going to have _fun _today." She cooed in his ear.

"Boss? Boss, that hurts! Why hy hy!"

With one last bow, Ozai closed the sliding door to the dank, smoke filled room. Leaving behind the sounds of screaming and pleading, he bowed one last time for the fallen.

* * *

**AN: If you wanna see the guy Moria fought, google "One Piece Zoro Teacher." **

**Thanks for the reviews, they actually do impact the story. A part of the Shanks interaction, and Doppleman being attacked by haki was a direct result of viewer feedback!**

**Interesting? side note, the darkening vision of Moria is me describing the time I almost died irl. I didn't see anything like what Moria did, that's part of the plot. No ROBs, I swear, I hate those things as a plot device. **

**Maybe I'll do an interlude next chapter or soonish, write a pov for Saga, Perona, Kenji, and a few words about the new recruits. **


	29. Chapter 29

"Ahh." I sighed in contentment. Back at my room, the rays of sunshine spilling through the window warmed my bones. The sunshine was a welcome break from the previous week's monsoon like rain. Juxtaposing the heat from the sun, a cool refreshing breeze entered the room, and whisked my hair a bit.

*Crunch* Taking a bite out of my apple, I wiped the juices from my chin. Making a face, I tossed the sour thing away.

The fleeting moment of peace was soon broken when I thought about yesterdays victory. A third of my forces had been completely lost. The shadows disappeared; the zombie bodies shredded beyond all repair. A further third were heavily damaged, loss of limb, and puncture marks were the norm. The silver lining I suppose is that they kept their shadows, and could be repaired by Hogback. By far however, the worst news was my loss of Silver Knight. He, along with John, and Fu Manchu are my only zombies that could effectively utilize haki. This was a major loss to my forces. On top of that, a further third of my zombie generals were lost. Fortunately, Fu Manchu and John survived, not to mention, one third of my forces had been left on Thriller Bark to hold down the fort…but if Absalom hadn't brought the reinforcements, that would've been it for me.

It boggled my mind that Kōshirō was so powerful. I don't think I landed a single hit on him, during our entire engagement! His observation haki was in a tier of its own. Not only that, but his skill in martial arts, they were incredible! He could slice, and cleave my shadows perfectly, no movement was wasted. He had such an economy of movement, I can only hope to match him in the future. In my honest opinion, my heart of hearts, I only won because of a couple lucky shots. At the end of the day, I think Absalom's devil fruit played a key role in my victory. Never mind the lack of stamina, or half of his shadow missing, that swordsman didn't account for Absalom at the last moment, and paid the price for it.

Even at the end of his rope, Kōshirō was still a dangerous, dangerous man. Forget Silver Knight, forget the more than two thousand zombies lost, if I had Kōshirō's shadow, I could've become unstoppable. With his skills, and my devil fruit, I could probably challenge Marco, or Katakuri, given enough time, maybe even a Yonko. The man was a beast, what he accomplished, will serve as inspiration to train only harder. There's similar monsters like him, out there in the world. The next time I met one, I needed to be prepared.

"Haaa." I sighed, closing my eyes, and clenching my fists at what could've been. Oh well, no use focusing on the past, it's time to look to the future. Look at the positives, I have a brand new, powerful corpse to add to the arsenal, and I made slight improvements at haki manifestation. I even made new discoveries about my devil fruit. For one, Doppleman can be disrupted by haki, I need to see for myself how long it would take to reform him. Especially under combat conditions. This is a must for when I fight those top tier opponents.

With my thoughts on Doppleman, perhaps I'll even be able to coat my own shadow in a layer of armament haki, much like how Doflamingo coats his strings. I don't know if I'll be able to do this to the shadows I create, but when it comes to my own shadow, this should be doable.

Additionally, I ripped half of Kōshirō's shadow from him, and absorbed it. Somehow, he didn't disintegrate, and when I absorbed his shadow, I felt like I only gained a marginal strength gain. There was no transfer of skills whatsoever, no haki, or sword swinging ability. If this is the case…I rubbed my chin. This merits further study, can I still make zombies with this function? How about healing?

Could I possibly have my cake, and eat it too? Take some of the shadow from an average civilian, place it in a zombie, and get that zombie to work in a factory, or train in fire arms. This way, I can have happy civilians, and won't have to resort to breaking the biggest law on the planet. Although when it comes to certain people, like combatants, or skilled workers such as carpenters, doctors, or engineers, I may need to have their complete shadow to have their skills. Why higher a engineer who you have to pay, when you could have a loyal, endlessly working zombie engineer?

"Ki shi shi shi!" I snapped open my eyes, and let loose a wild laugh. Who cares about all this plotting? The important thing for now was that I, Gecko Moria, was alive! This fight the other day may be what's called a pyrrhic victory, but it wasn't without gains!

At the end of my laugh, four kneeling, and bound figures began shivering uncontrollably, bringing my attention to them.

Noticing my attention placed upon the four figures, Blue stepped forward to present them to the room.

"Presenting to the illustrious, and all knowing Captain Gecko Moria, Warlord of the seas, Royal Shichibukai, Prime Minister of Goa Kingdom, Savior of the Impoverished, and shining jewel of East Blue, Perona-sama's spoils of war! First up, is the warrior whose name is feared throughout the West Blue, Clamps! His vice like grip is strong enough to crush rocks! A relative unknown, he comes in with a bounty of 6,500,000 beri! Just look at the forearms on the guy, he not only can crush them, but his best known feat is throwing a rock, sinking a ship!

Next up, the honorable mercenary who is purported to do _anything _for money, coming in at an 8,000,000 beri bounty, Golass! In the beautiful and dashing Perona-sama's capture, Golass proved himself capable of slaying eight hulked up zombies trained by Sergeant himself! His might couldn't save him however, it was no cure for depression! Golass' sword skills pale when compared to our genius swordsman Saga, but he's a darkhouse worth watching out for!

Our third man of the hour, the one who's obsessed with gold above all else, his voice is to die for. The wielder of the scream-scream fruit, coming in with a bounty of 10,000,000 beri, the pirate, El Drago! His hair may be a similar shade to Moria-sama's, but don't let that fool you! El Drago's anything but brave, he has a deathly fear of mice!

Last, and most shockingly, our mistress of fear, our banshee of terror, recognized a third, surprise target! In the same pub, drinking next to El Drago, and Golass was none other than the second smartest man of East Blue, his bounty weighed in at a hefty 16,000,000 beri. For your viewing pleasure, Kuro of A Thousand Plans!" After each introduction, Blue would make goofy gestures with his arms reminiscent of a clown.

"I can't wait to modify their bodies! Fos fos fos fos! Crocodile skin, lions liver, elephants tusks, there are so many possibilities. Young men, come see me after Moria-sama is done with you!" Hogback slipped on new gloves, and pulled up his surgical mask.

"Yes! You see Kumashi, I did it!" Perona fist pumped, and gripped Kumashi in a joyous hug.

"Why am I even here?" A pouting Kenji was included in Perona's bone crunching embrace.

"Hmph." Absalom crossed his arms in an act to look tough, but a small smile peaked its way through the gruff exterior.

"That's right worm, I am the strongest swordsman on this crew!" A triumphant smirk was plastered over Saga's face as he nodded at Blue.

"Ha ha ha." A deep, genuine laugh escaped my throat at the sight of it all. It wasn't often I got to see the whole crew together like this. Although my three generals…my two generals were missing, preparing to be stitched back together by Hogback. A bitter smile appeared on my face. Silver Knight may only have been a corpse dancing to the tune of the master, but his sacrifice had allowed me to live. For that, I'll always be thankful.

"What are you going to do to us?" A terrified Golass turned his head up to look me in the eye. His green cap, and feathered headdress were torn up. He was the most stereotypical Native American looking guy I'd ever seen. He actually reminded me a lot of the Shandian people who lived in the sky islands. Only difference was this guy had no wings. Bound, the only thing missing from his get-up was his weapon of choice, a massive sword.

Beside him, an angry faced El Drago, made furious noises. But all I could hear through his gag was "Mmmnn, mmmm!"

"Ahem. What I do believe my…_fellows_ are trying to annunciate is this: how may we be of service sir?" Kuro pushed up his glasses, asked me with a pleasant face, however, when he referred to the other two, he did so with a strong derision. He reminded me of a perfect upper class servant, the years spent as a butler hadn't gone to waste I see.

Kuro's gentlemanly attitude, and friendly face plus glasses combo was giving me flashbacks to the other day. Perhaps this one deserves additional monitoring.

A brief look at his Shadow, and I could tell Kuro was thinking about how best to stab Blue in the back and get away from here ASAP. It was a vague feeling since my shadow reading skill wasn't all knowing, and could mostly get emotions, but the man was furious at being called the _second smartest _person from East Blue. For someone so smart, he sure does seem to let his emotions control him, haha!

"Well said Kuro, as you've no doubt surmised, you four have been shanghaied. I would expect no less from one with an intellect such as yours to have figured it out." I placed my fingertips together, forming a pyramid and smiled at them.

"Firstly, Clamps, not much is known about you, tell me about yourself. Convince me you're Thriller Bark material."

"Uhh, I can crush rocks?" Clamps gave an enquiring look my way.

My face was not amused.

"Uhhh. I can crush REALLY BIG ROCKS!" Clamps smiled like he'd discovered the secret to the universe.

_Katcha Katcha Katcha_

Three bullet holes tore clean through Clamps' body causing him to fall to the ground motionless. With a care free smile, I holstered the still smoking gun. Without giving the remaining three a chance to recover from the shocking scene, I continued my recruitment pitch.

"You in the headdress, you're Golass no? My sources say that you're hell bent on collecting money. That you're a ruthless mercenary who's slaughtered countless innocents. However, while wallowing in misery on Kuraigana Island after your defeat to the Straw Hat Pirates, you've been observed helping the poor on many an occasion."

"I can explain, Moria-sama, I, I'm bad to the bone! I'll kill anyone you tell me too! I had to pay for our drinks somehow, you see.." Golass tried to convince me he was made

"Furthermore, once you give your word, you never go back on it, even when it means following stupid orders." At this, I glanced at El Drago.

"A drive to reduce excessive damages, strength, and a good work ethic. Consider yourself hired. You'll find in time that working for me is better than any other option on the market. Employee health and salary is all part of the package. Achieve enough merits, and I may even personally help resolve a grudge or two, or whatever it is you need so much money saved for." I grinned, and patted a relieved Golass on the shoulder.

"As for you El Drago, lazy, and obsessed with gold, you're next to worthless. Ruthless, and energetic when your gold is on the line, but at all other times, listless, and unwilling to get your hands dirty. You must be strong to carry around an armor made entirely of gold, but my sources tell me you barely know how to use the scream-scream fruit. Why should I bother with you?" I lazily reached for another apple, and took a chomp while looking him in the eye. He was a tall dark skinned man, but his height was nothing next to mine. If anything, his body shape and face reminded me of a shrunk down Oars Jr.

"Mnn! MNNN!" El Drago struggled left and right, looking around wildly. It seemed as if his eyeballs were about to pop out of his head in desperation.

As an extension of my will, Doppleman moved behind El Drago, and removed the gag.

"Pwah! I can scream! I can scream just fine! In fact, not only that, I'm stronger than Golass! If anything, you should take me, and not him! I'm ten times more ruthless! I shot one of my old crew in the stomach, and left him to die, because he slowed us down! Pick me!" El Drago spewed out a word salad, speaking at lightspeed to plead his case.

"Hmm." I scratched my chin, and slowly raised my gun, pointing it at him.

El Drago began to cry, the eyeliner around his eyes began to spool down his chin, and drip onto the floor.

"Pathetic. I suppose I'll take pity on you. This one time." I once again pocketed my pistol.

"Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you! I'll never forget this for as long as I live Gecko! Now, uhh, how's about that pay? I mean, I _am _stronger than Golass after all." A greedy, thirsty look took ahold of El Drago's face.

_Katcha_

"YEAAA!" El Drago let loose with a yelp that sounded eerily similar to Tom, from Tom & Jerry.

"You'll find the pay to be quite good, _Drago_ starting out, I'll have ten kilograms of gold delivered to your room."

Forgetting the pain in his foot, El Drago looked at me in amazement.

"That will be your salary for the next decade. From you, I want ten million beri's in loot every year as tribute. As a rule, you're not allowed to keep any money stored anywhere else, except in your room. Violation of this, and well." At the end, I held up the gun, and smiled in his direction.

"Moria-_samaaa_!" The crying El Drago smashed his forehead into my floor.

"Ki shi shi shi, how about you Kuro? Convince me. Why should I keep the man who spent three years meticulously planning to subvert a little crippled girls inheritance, only to have it foiled by some stupid villagers? Convince me how the man famous throughout East Blue, the man who successfully faked his own death is worthy of joining my crew?" I leaned forward to look him especially close in the eye. My tall figure loomed above him, even when I sat.

"Gladly Moria-sama. You see, those were no ordinary villagers. After my defeat, it was, much to my shock, and dare I say shame to learn about the identity of my attackers. For you see, they were no ordinary villagers who foiled my plan. It was Usopp, warrior of the sea, and son of the famed sniper, Yassop. Additionally, the prime antagonist of this sad tale of mine was one Luffy D. Monkey. The man famous in the papers for his attack on Enies Lobby and Impel Down. My plans take into account hundreds, nay, thousands of variables. However…However! This was inconceivable! I had prepared, oh how I had prepared how to take care of Usopp. I was meticulous in my set-up, even if the boy suspected me, the entire village was on my side!

However, it all ended tragically when an unseen variable entered the picture. The son of the revolutionary, the grandson of the Marine, who was I but a lowly pirate from East Blue? Who was I, but a man with his wits against a muslebound, brain dead barbarian. I am a tactician my dear Captain. My head is for numbers, strategies, and logistics! Even so, even so, my attacks had dealt damage to the boy! Not only the blades, but the blunt side, I have invented a movement technique you see, even a brand new way of striking those with devil fruits! I call it, the Nuki Ashi! Take me in as your loyal sailor, and these skills are yours." Kuro ended his statement with a nod, and likewise kowtowed, although not as furiously as El Drago had.

I scratched the back of my head, unsure what I was supposed to make of this performance. The man was slick, I'd give him that. So many half truths and misdirection in his little speech, I'm a little astonished. Although knowing a little bit of his character, this wasn't to surprising. This act of fake humility though, ha ha ha!

"Welcome Kuro! You'll find working for the Thriller Bark Pirates to be much different from your past escapades. This time, you'll truly have an outlet for that big brain of yours! The crew you used to be a part of, they're small time, always trying to run away from the Marine's. When you sail with me, **I** represent the World Government, I am the law! Within the last two weeks alone, I conquered the Goa Kingdom. Under my banner, we'll do great things together." I smiled, and cut away each of their bonds.

"Rise. Rise! Each and every one of you is a part of my Thriller Bark Family! I am a fair employer, and don't expect to much from each of you. While pirating under my name, you may keep 20% of all the booty. Indulging in murder, rape, drugs, etc is your personal decision, so long as it isn't tracked to me, and doesn't harm my reputation I don't care. Freedom is a part of the pirate way of life after all! That being said, in your journey's, keep civilian death to a minimum, and don't interact with the Marine's to the best of your ability. Failure to do so will have consequences. I don't need or want to draw the attention of those existences high above. Prove yourself worthy, and maybe I'll risk my skin if you anger those existences. Otherwise, you should all know the game by now. Don't be surprised when your ass is hung out to dry!

Lastly, I want to make one final thing crystal clear. Something you should keep in mind at all times. Don't you ever, and I mean ever think about destroying my ships, islands, and properties. This behavior is **unacceptable**. Got that?"

I received stiff nods in reply from the three of them.

"Excellent! Good! Wonderful! Blue, see to it that they have rooms in the mansion." I clapped my hands, addressing the munchkin.

"Oh, and one more thing before you gentleman leave. You're each on a probationary period, you know with the whole me forcibly employing you and all. For now, you Golass, you're under the command of the shorty over there with the brown hair, and band-aid across his nose."

"I'm Kenji, nice to meet you." Kenji gave a short bow Golass' way.

"Golass." He answered nervously, and smiled.

"El Drago, for the time being, you're Saga's subordinate. And no, you can't kill him Saga, if you do, there's going to be punishment."

"Tch, don't get in my way trash." Saga sized El Drago up from top to bottom, and was less than impressed.

"Hmph, silver is a lesser color." El Drago marginalized Saga's hair.

"Moving on, Kuro, you're to be Absalom's assistant for now. This is a key role, critical to this crew's operation. Absalom is my chief steward, and financial officer. Listen, and answer to his commands as if they came from my mouth."

"I'm Kuro, but you can call me Klahadore if it makes you comfortable." Kuro bowed at ninety degrees, shook hands with Absalom with a two handed grip, and followed Blue out the door.

"Uh yeah, sure." Absalom hesitantly shook hands with Kuro, unaccustomed to the finesse often found in noble's courts.

After they left, I glanced at the corpse of Clamps. Taking another bite of my apple, I chose to address him.

"Alright Clamps, enough acting, get out of here." I nudged him with my toe.

"Uhh, did I do it right boss?" Clamps looked up at me from the ground.

"You did great kid, now go on, get! Zombies like you should be practicing in the fields or something. Go see if there's any work for you to do around the island."

After the zombie got up and running out of the door, I saw a myriad of facial expressions greet me.

"What? Is something on my face?" I wiped a napkin all around, maybe some of that damned apple juice was dripping again…

"Ha! Idiots! Didn't they realize Clamps was a zombie this whole time, that their recruitment was one big show!" Saga exclaimed loudly and with great certainty. To say he looked down on them would be an understatement.

"Pffftt heh heh heh." Kenji covered his mouth, trying not to laugh at Saga.

"Something you wanna say kid?" Saga leaned in and glared at Kenji.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Kenji waved his hands back and forth in front of his face still trying not to smile.

Saga's eyebrow began to twitch when he saw Kenji's mouth curl between a blank face and a smile.

"Obviously Kenji means to say that you didn't know that Clamps guy was a zombie either. Who's the idiot now? Horo horo horo!" Perona gave Kenji a big thumbs up with one hand, and covered her mouth with the other.

At this point, Saga had his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

"Children please." At my short sentence, the three of them had stopped squabbling. Wow, I can't believe it worked! Maybe you _can _teach an old dog new tricks. Next thing I know, they'll be completing my objectives and orders without telling them anything! No, that'd be to scary. Such flights of fancy could never happen.

"Ahh, ahem. Good work on your capture Perona, you may have been kidnapped, but against someone as powerful as Shimotsuki Kōshirō I can't find fault with you. I was forced to kill him, and couldn't obtain his shadow, so although I want to reward you, it might have to be reduced. Since we have to find a suitable reward for you, how would you like a –"

"WAIT A MINUTE! You killed Sensei?!" Saga interrupted me.

"Watch your mouth new guy. You may be important to Captain, but I won't see any disrespect!" Absalom pulled a gun and pointed it at the back of Saga's head point blank.

Saga didn't even seem to register the threat as he stared at me with great intensity.

"Why, do you plan to take revenge?" I calmly asked as I took another bite from my apple.

"You, you killed Sensei. Ha ha, Sensei is dead!" Saga sank to his knees, when his hair shadowed his eyes, tears began to fall onto the floor.

Kenji moved behind him to pat him on the back. For a moment, even Absalom took pity on him, and slightly lowered his gun. On the sidelines, Perona put her hand into her mouth, and nibbled on it, seemingly in shock.

"He was like a father to me, raised me, taught me everything I know, I…**I wanted to be the one to kill Sensei!**" Shrugging off Kenji's hand, Saga drew his sword in one swift motion.

Absalom raised his gun again, readying to fire at a moments notice.

Unperturbed, I continued sitting in my comfortable bean bag chair, curious to see how this would play out. Since the beginning of this conversation, I had been reading his shadow. I had intentionally mentioned Kōshirō's death to test Saga. Sooner or later, he would find out, it's better I dealt with this now, rather than some time down the line. Would I gain a new shadow to add to my collection today I wonder?

With a clang, Saga placed his sword onto the ground, and kneeled on one knee, much like a medieval knight would when they were sworn to knighthood. Like this, Saga held that position for another five minutes. As each second went by, his sword would glow a brighter effervescent green glow. His eyes were closed, and his breathing slowed. The eyelids moved rapidly back and forth, as if he was in REM sleep, and his lips at a rapid pace.

Within the room, we were silent as the grave. Awaiting Saga to make a move.

With a strong inhale, and then soft exhale, the light on Saga's sword began to dim. With a flick, the blade had been sheathed.

"Since you claim to have killed Sensei, I hope you're prepared for the consequences. His family is on a whole other level. Especially, _her_." Saga stood up, panting, he had a look of exhaustion on his face, as if he had just single handedly held back a hoard of demons from entering the gates of heaven.

"The Shimotsuki? I don't know much about them, but aren't they a family deposed by Kaido in Wano?" I tried my best to think about this clan, but my brain was drawing up blanks.

"No, that's not it." Saga shook his head.

"…Roronoa Zoro? I understand he has great potential, should I kill him before he can grow into it?" I mused, seriously considering doing the deed. At this point, the man would likely seek revenge if he ever found out.

"No! Ahem, no, it's not Zoro, Sensei wanted him to take over his sword art and dojo, not…not his _other_ work. I speak not strictly about the family of the blood, but the one forged through brotherhood." Saga was quick to deny Zoro, and shift the blame.

"Stop being obtuse Saga, this isn't like you at all. If not Zoro, then who?" Fed up with Saga's beating around the bush, I got to the heart of the matter.

"The Wu Tang Clan." Saga solemnly announced.

With a clatter, the gun in Absalom's hands fall to the ground.

"Absalom?"

Absalom looked more shook than at any time I'd ever seen him. My announcement of forming the crew back together, my participation at Marineford, taking over a kingdom, negotiating with the Germa 66, none of these things phased him. This must be serious for him to take this kind of reaction.

"What's the Wu Tang Clan? They don't sound so tough!" Perona crossed her arms.

To the side, even Dr. Hogback, and Kenji looked on with curiosity.

"I wish you never had to know Perona. The Wu Tang Clan was founded a little more than twenty years ago, around the same time Wano fell to, well, you know who. The point is, it's the most feared assassin group in all of the underworld. Ten people formed from the worlds ashes to spread bloody murder and mayhem. There isn't a yakuza, or gangster who hasn't heard of them.

When it comes to massacres, this group of fellows taught those higher ups in the World Government a thing or two. For the last decade, they've been particularly silent, but that's not to say their work hasn't shown up here and there over the years. Looking at that guys corpse one more time, he reminds me of a wanted poster I once saw in the papers. I never knew him as Kōshirō, to me, and everyone subscribed to the special underworld newspaper, he was known as the Buddha of Samsara. One meeting with him, and you'll be ten steps ahead of everyone else on your journey to the after life!

And we killed one of the founding members! These men are known for disrespecting all that is holy and sacred. They've successfully assassinated Kings, Celestial Dragons, Vice-Admirals, even an Admiral has been killed when they teamed up!"

"Well then, how do we stop them?" Kenji, pale as a sheet voiced his concern.

"No one knows where they're based…even the Buddha of Samsara was on a dinky little island like this, way out here in the boondocks of East Blue. They could be anywhere, at any time. If there's anyone who knows how dangerous an intangible enemy could be, it's me. Damnit! Damnit damnit damnit!" Absalom looked down at the ground, and kicked his gun away in frustration. He lost his composure like I'd never experienced. The anger in his voice was laced with depression.

"It's not like anyone even knows, right? It was just us and that stinky old man in the field, right?" Perona spoke up, the nervous energy in the room made her stand on edge.

"Ahh ha ha, I wish that were true, but, uhh, yesterday, I found this. I was going to bring it up after the meeting, but things developed to this point." Held up in Absalom's hands was a recording den den mushi.

All the while this was going on, I was tapping my fingers away at my armrest in thought.

"Absalom, you, Kuro, and Saga will ransack Kōshirō's home and dojo for any leads we might have for this _Wu Tang Clan_. I don't know exactly who this enemy is, but I'll crush them like all the rest." At the end, I spit the words out. If I had to fight another nine opponents of Kōshirō's caliber unprepared, I might as well jump into the ocean and kill myself.

"Right, and here's your shadow back Saga. This silence is very much unlike you. You you're your blood pumping, something to set you straight. After this assignment with Absalom, your bandit camp, and pirate clearing duty is to begin. Take El Drago, fifty of the hulk zombies, and a further hundred generalist zombies with you on one of my spare pirate ships. Likewise, Kenji, you'll lead Golass, that platoon of hulk zombies you trained with, as well as an additional hundred generalists. You two boys hurry off now." I shooed them away with my hand.

Right when I was going to address Absalom, Perona interrupted me.

"Moria-samaaa, what about my reward? I've been a good girl, ate all my vegetables, and id the training you had stupid Red supervise! I even did all that double training stuff to keep Kenji around!"

"Ki shi shi shi, and because of you, we're now in this current predicament. What with the Wu Tang Clan and all. As a reward, you can take the same amount of zombies with you, and clear out the bandits and pirates nearby. Ah, and don't attack the places marked on this map."

"But Moria-samaaa." Perona had tears in her eyes, and her lip quivered. She lowered her head shading out her eyes.

"Not bad kid! When we have a moment of peace, I'll see about getting Dr. Hogback to stitch up some more cute things for you." I rubbed the top of her head in affection.

"Yes!" Sparkles in her eyes, she took off with Kumashi.

"Such a simple girl." I smiled at her exit.

"I'll have to be extra attentive when I stitch something cute for her. Maybe Cindry-chan has some ideas?" Hogback rubbed his chin.

"She'll grow up into a maneater, that's for sure. Ah, if only I had such a girl to call my own." Absalom scratched his chest above the heart.

"Now that the kids are gone, there shouldn't be any drama to get in the way of business. Absalom, I noticed the Germa 66 fleet is missing today. Is the factory complete? Did we deploy spy rats onto their ships before they left?"

"It's been completed Captain. All I'm waiting on is for the finalized designs from Hogback, and his, err, Cindry-chan. We have a small labour shortage after our latest scuffle, but it's not enough to stop the work at the factory. We may be low however for our next large scale battle. I suggest we get new shadows, and new zombies ASAP. And yeah, I released no less than a dozen of those little guys onto his ships. Not only that, we've received reports from the rats you spread in the Goa Kingdom. They found several abandoned mines, and quarries that could suit your needs." Now in business mode, Absalom left behind much of his usual temper in favor of focusing on our conversation.

"Duly noted, I have an idea on how to get more shadows quickly that I'll introduce later. In terms of raw materials required for creating a zombie, many of the body parts required can be recycled from the battle yesterday. Additionally, our new monster trio are going to be responsible for bringing back bandits and pirates. Their shadows or corpses will help make up for our losses. Dr. Hogback, your current priority is to finish those designs for the factory. Any additional income those products produce is invaluable to our cause. Not only that, but I have dreams of bullet resistant, if not outright bullet proof clothing, and even something to do with hot air balloons."

"Balloons Moria-sama?" Hogback asked in a befuddled voice.

"Yes Dr. Hogback, balloons, they could change the way we live our lives forever. However, it's not something we need to discuss now. When you finish your work at the factory, I need you to work around the clock on another project. I need the zombie corpses from last battle to be patched up, and have the non-zombie corpses recycled. Patching up Fu Manchu, and John are a priority. I cannot stress enough how amazing your creations are Dr. Hogback. They're an inspiration to us all. I'd be very appreciative to once more see the work of your creative genius." I hit Hogback both with the carrot, and stick, flattery, and work.

"I'll get on it right away. Come Cindry-chan, we have greatness to achieve!" Wiping some sweat from his forehead, Hogback grasped Cindry's hand, and rushed out of my room at doubletime.

Like always, Absalom was last in my room after a big meeting.

Finally done with my apple, I tossed it to the waste bin, only to have it go full circle, and land with a plop on my carpet.

"So, tell me Absalom, is the threat of the Wu Tang Clan really as harsh as you made it sound? Have they really killed an Admiral?" I stood from my bean bag chair, and looked out the balcony. Several birds playfully chirped to one another in the mid afternoon air.

Absalom leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper. "I didn't want to say it in front of the others, because it could dampen morale, but years ago, when a Shichibukai died, it wasn't an accident. The former crewmate of Roger, and world famous swordmaster, Kozuki Oden is rumored to have been killed by those people. You know who is also rumored to have ties with them."

Kozuki who? Absalom is looking at me like this should be common knowledge to me. But I'm utterly clueless! And no, I don't know who!

"Oh, of course! Oden! I always wondered what happened to him! You're saying the Wu Tang did in someone who was a strong member of Rogers crew?!" I feigned shock, and understanding.

"Yes! I'm glad you get it Captain! That's why I follow you, you're the brains, and I'm the muscle!" Absalom pointed at himself with a thumb, and grinned fiercely.

"R-right, well I'll be here holding down the fort while you scout out Kōshirō's home on Kuraigana Island. Oh by the way, since you'll be going out, I have the perfect mission for you! I may not be a Lannister, but I'll try my best to pay my debts."

"A Lani-what? Wait, this means, not more work! Moria-samaaa!"

"Hush, it's for your own good. You need to live a little, get some fresh air. Staying indoors all day, or directing zombies to work can't be healthy."

"B-but, making coffee on a moving ship, it's impossible!"

"Bon-voyage, happy sails."

"My coffee!"

* * *

I spent the next two weeks in Goa Kingdom's town square generating good will by healing people of their physical ailments. This time around, I didn't pay anyone to help along. There was a line of willing volunteers to help the injured out, and donate their shadow. Specifically, many of the people I had fixed last week came back this time around to help out their neighbors. In my experience, those most effected would most often be some of the best givers. I'd heard about tons of cases, where someone's family member was ill with some disease, and needed a transplant. After a donor came forward, often times, the healthy family member would then choose to donate their own cells, or organs. In this way, a circle of good will could be created.

As the facilitator of all this, I once again wasn't here just to generate good will among my subjects.

"Okay, go ahead and sit right there, I'm going to try something new this time. When I take your shadow, you should feel weak, but won't pass out. How about you try my new treatment?" I asked the shadow donator.

"Yer tellin me I don't have to pass out to heal hem? Whell why not?!" The donator answered in joy.

Smiling in response, I pulled out my scissors, and with a snip took a quarter of his shadow and inserted it into the burn victim. Observing the results, it was slightly disappointing. The burn victim that received a quarter of a shadow lost the majority of his burns, however some traces still remained.

"Can you try moving the arm that was injured? Do you still feel some pain?" I held a clipboard, ready to take notes.

"It's mightily reduced yer lordship, but ah, could you ah." The burn victim licked his lips trying to ask me if I could use the entire shadow to heal him, but appeared hesitant, because of my nobility. That's part of it, and maybe because I'm Gecko Motherfucking Moria. It could be either reason why he's tongue tied honestly.

"Let's try this." Taking a further half of the donators shadow, I plunged it into the burn victim.

"How about now?" Looking at him, it appears all visible damage has receded.

"Heh heh, thanks yer excellency! Let's go Jenkins!" With a bow, the now healthy man dragged a wobbly Jenkins out of the pavilion.

-Patients with light symptoms require part of the shadow, using the entire thing could be a waste.- I wrote down on the clipboard.

Hmm, that guy left before I could return his shadow to him. He's currently roaming around with only a quarter of his shadow. This will make an excellent test case! I pulled a zombie rat out of one of my pockets. At this rate, I didn't leave home without at least a handful. "Search for the man with a reduced shadow, he should be nearby, and is named Jenkins. His one stand out feature is his bright red bow-tie on his threadbare grey linen clothes. Observe him for any abnormalities, such as a weakness or sensitivity to light. Go!"

In between sessions, I took a ten minute break. This was the perfect time for me to meditate, and focus on the world around me. Shadow reading, observation haki, they were both used for one of the best boredom killers known to man. Gossip!

"I heard Hans the other day proposed to Grettle. It will be a lovely marriage!"

"Did they now?! Aren't they the two who, claimed that, as children escaped that horrible witches candy castle. They said that they were going to have their souls stolen, but tricked the witch to eat some cake instead. Those two don't belong in Goa Kingdom, a couple of loons!"

"I think it's sweet, hah hah!" I could barely make out the blurry laughing face of a man. Based on his voice and bearing, he must be middle aged. The slump in his posture indicates he has a broken leg. The left? No, the right!

"You're an idiot Joe." I heard the sharp slap of a facepalm. This mans face was filled with pockmarks.

"O'really, if I'm such an idiot, then what about your cousin? He's still a mountain bandit, even after the Prime Minsters declaration?"

"It's pronounced Prime Minister. Kami, some people. And this is this, that is that. My cousin is his own man. Although…I heard he got captured by…_them!_" I could barely make out what the pockmarked man had said. His whisper was so quiet, I had to focus to the max to hear him over the din of the crowd waiting outside my pavilion, not to mention the general noises of hawkers, and street vendor's so close to the city square.

"THEM. Whose them?!" Joe screeched to the air.

"Damnit Joe, it's who's. As in who is. Besides, you should say Who are they?" The pockmarked man tried to keep things quiet and on the down low.

"Fuckitall, I said whose them, and I meant it! Whose them?!"

Indeed, who are these people that have got this pockmarked man so secretive about? I leaned towards them, focusing extra hard on the next few words about to be spoken. Am I under threat of the Wu Tang Clan, and just don't know it? It took every fiber of my will power not to rush out of the tent, grab the man, and rush back to base for a swift interrogation.

"They call them the kingdom's executioners. Legally sanctioned enforcers of the Prime Ministers will. They say if you come across Demon Blade, _run_. Don't even try to fight it. Everyone who runs into him gets sliced in half. Everywhere he goes, it's followed by the most horrid shrieking voice. The other enforcer, he's called Hero. Rumor has it, he's nearly as tall as a giant. All the women bandits I've asked said he's got a killer figure. Everyone who runs into him gets taken prisoner. Most of them end up in a Marine holding cell, however, all those fellows without bounties simply disappear…" The pockmarked man shook and shivered. I could feel the fear coming off of him in waves.

"Now you'done it! You've been walking in circles! Them, whose them, then you say that 'they call them..' whose they!"

"If you weren't married to my sister Joe, if you didn't bring her happiness, you have no clue, no clue at all. Maybe if I pray to the Devil of the Sea, He'll set Despresso to haunt you at night. You'll be so tired of living, you'll want to commit suicide."

"Now I know yer lyin, what kinda idjit would be called Despre-"

Hmm, what's this? Intruders?

"Cipher Pol. What have you come here for?"

At my utterance, three figures in white suits utilized one of the six powers, soru, and seemingly appeared through space and time to stand behind me.

Not to be outdone, I teleported behind the three of them, swapping places with Doppleman. The shadows of the three Cipher Pol agents slowly, very slowly, almost imperceptibly dragged across the floor in my direction.

Jumping forward, and turning in my direction, I got a full frontal view of the trio. From left to right, they wore masks to hide their identities. The one on the far left had a mimes face, a yellow collar, and wore a red/white striped hat. The agent to my right, the tallest of the bunch, who came up to my chin, had a red mask, surrounded by sunflower patterned black hair? Finally, the one in the middle, who I could only assume was their leader wore a bowler hat, and his great coat had a blue scarf on top with a blue polka dot pattern. His mask had one eye black, and the other white. I hazily recognized them as mooks from the Dressrosa arc. CP-0.

Without directly answering my question, the one in the middle began speaking in a slow, deliberate drawl. "You know. Slavery is illegal. It's a crime punishable by death."

The agent's shadows continued to travel towards me at a snail's pace.

"Don't make me repeat myself a second time." My face broke out into a mad grin.

"Should you find any such activities. Be sure to report them to the proper authorities. Namely. Cipher Pol."

At this point, the three shadows had reached me, and I held them in my grasp. The agent's however, remained unphased, they didn't make a single move.

"Boring. One of these days, you're going to play with a fire to big to be put out." I released my grasp, and like a spring being released, the shadows zipped back to their owners. I wasn't the only person to conduct loyalty tests after all.

"The World Government is fortunate to have a loyal follower like you. Take this." Tossing a letter my way like a shuriken, I caught it, causing my hand to sting a little bit. Bastard through that thing imbued with haki. Right when he threw the letter, they disappeared. I never took my eyes off of them as they soru'd away.

"Try hards." Attempting to divert my attention so they can disappear when I'm not looking at them. CP-0 just tried to pull a Batman on me. Like the masks didn't key me in to what kind of goons these guys were. Oldest trick in the book.

Now let's see what this letter is about.

-Gecko Moria, Royal Shichibukai, you have been summoned effectively immediately to take part in a gathering of Shichibukai…Impel Down escapees…great honor…we are gladdened by your steps to safeguard our kingdom…Goa Kingdom has a history of free expression…Subversive elements have been spotted in your current location…In these trying times, anything could happen. We take the safety and security of our Shichibukai very seriously. Regards.-

A letter personally delivered by the World Governments top wet works unit. Ordinarily, I'd ignore a summons by the World Government, seemed like it was common for only Doflamingo to be present at these things. Although in the movies, Mihawk seemed to be at every single event. Should I go? With that one agent talking about my dark secret, it could be that they know about my prisoners in the Freezer Block. However, I think the agent was making more of an educated guess, based around my activities, and issuing a warning. Considering I have a near one hundred percent zombie force, I don't know who could've told them.

Hmm, better make more spy rats, some might say its paranoia, but when the Cipher Pol can swoop down on you with barely any forewarning, than shit could hit the fan at any time. Better to have and not need, then need and not have.

"Puru puru puru" Ah, seems I have a call.

"Moria-sama! I completed the mission." Absalom sounded intensely happy, like a man dying of thirst that had finally found water.

"So, you've found leads on the Wu Tang Clan? Where are they hiding?"

"Ah, that. Well, yes, and no. We didn't find anything at the dojo, however, Saga remembered something, and now we have a possible lead." Absalom sounded hesitant to continue.

"Well, You see, the thing is, this possible lead, it would be in Wano." The den den mushi cringed after Absalom said that. As if it was about to be struck at any moment.

"…"

"You're absolutely certain on this?" After the silence stretched, I finally replied.

"100% it sounded like a credible lead, but with that kid, who knows what's running through his mind? You'd have to question him yourself Captain."

"Maybe another time, there's a Shichibukai meeting I've been requested to attend."

"You're not actually thinking about going this time, right Captain? I thought you said those things were for government arse kissers?"

"…"

"Captain?"

"I'll see you in a few days."

"Uhh, sorry Cap-"

_Click_

If the rumors are true, Saga should be clearing out bandits right about now. I'll have plenty of time to question him after this World Government shenanigans. No use putting it off till later, time for me to head out, and answer this summons. Here's hoping it's nothing like Marineford and I don't have to challenge a Yono or their crew. Hell, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe I can socialize more with my peers? Images of a laughing Doflamingo as ducks fell from the sky, and hatred beyond reason being sent my way from Hancock. The way they extorted me for my information on Blackbeard. Even Mihawk was complicit! Aw, who am I kidding, those guys are a pain in the ass to deal with!

* * *

**AN: Absalom is an unreliable narrator, and Moria doesn't have perfect knowledge of One Piece. Saying now, he's mostly familiar with the big things up to Wholecake island. Some things that may not be as important, like Momonosuke are ignored for the most part. Who even liked or was interested in that guy pre-Wano anyway? Heck, I find him annoying now. **


	30. Chapter 30

The date and location for the meeting was included with the message Cipher Pol left behind. Three days later, I found myself on a tiny sandbar no bigger than a standard Marine warship. This was easy for me to compare the two, because a small flotilla of seven Marine vessels circled the sand bar. On the islet waiting for me was a white circular table, six lawn chairs, and one very casual Doflamingo. Leaning back in his chair, with one leg crossed over the other, Doflamingo sipped up an orange drink with a crazy straw.

"Ahh~ that hit the spot. Want some?" Smacking his lips in pleasure, Doflamingo held up his half finished glass towards me, and shook it left and right.

"What even is that, orange juice?" I took a seat next to Doflamingo, and ordered tea from a nearby Marine.

"Fuffu fuffu, it's so much more than juice, it's a smoothie. One glass sells for ten million beri. Of course, that's not the only expensive thing on the market right now." Grinning from ear to ear, Doflamingo slapped a wanted poster down on the table.

On it, was a picture of me, and a price of seven hundred fifty million. I quickly looked left and right, worried the Marine's would ambush me.

After a long sip, Doflamingo smiled at me again. "Relax. You're amongst friends here!"

"Your tea, Moria-sama."

"Although…" Doflamingo's cheerful persona died down as he leaned in close to me, as if he was about to share a secret, or conspiracy.

I leaned in close, taking a sip of my tea.

"You're awfully brave drinking scalding hot tea, you know that Moria-chan? You could at least look the server in the eyes and thank him for the drink." Leaning back in his chair, Doflamingo drained his smoothie, and tossed the glass into the sea.

I too leaned back in my chair. With an ugly look on my face, I drank another mouthful of tea to calm myself down. Doflamingo was the ultimate cock tease. Right when I thought I was going to get some useful information out of him, he goes and says something nonsensical. His act of littering was also an eye opener, on a planet of mostly water, where do people throw their trash? I never considered myself much of an environmentalist, but since I did plan on living for a long time here, maybe I should do something to curb rampant dumping.

"Wait a minute. Damn, this tea _is _really hot!" My mouth felt like it was on fire. No, not only my mouth, my whole body, from my largest artery, to my smallest vein was burning! I began to sweat like a pig, and I gripped my heart, which was beating a million times a second. I stood up in shock, only to knock the table over, and fall on my knees. Is this cardiac arrest, will Moria's obesity be the end of me?!

"Fuffu fuffu fuffu! You really are brave! I never expected you to drink more than half!" Doflamingo gripped his sides in laughter.

"What did you…the tea!" My eyes began to dilate, and the pain became near unbearable.

"Not anything I did, I tried to warn you, but you refused to listen. My hands are clean." He held his spotless hands out for all to inspect.

"Enough of this!" I absorbed a shadow, and felt my condition lessen.

"Ahh, that's better." I sighed in relief, only to have the poison surge again.

"!" I sat cross legged, and began to use observation haki on myself. I could now feel my body at a closer level than ever before. Every thirty seconds, I would absorb a shadow I kept in my pocket from the Impel Down prisoners, and then observed the changes. After getting a better hold on my body, and it's processes, I meditated and focused on my burgeoning armament haki.

"Hnn" With a grunt, I began to force the poison out of my pours. Black droplets soaked my clothes, and fell to the floor. Hisses rose up, killing the grass, and some of the flowers that had grown nearby.

With a final roar, I jettisoned a black stream from my mouth into the surrounding water. I pulled up one of the lawn chairs, and sat down with a meaty thump. The ordeal took around ten minutes, but I felt utterly spent. With my observation haki, I could tell a small strand of the poison was still in my body, weakening me, but there wasn't anything I could do at the moment to destroy it. Something I'll have Hogback take a look at.

"Huh, well what do you know. Good job on surviving the assassination attempt." Doflamingo gave me a thumbs up in support.

I sent him a glare in response, and absorbed another five shadows to recover my stamina. Currently, I had less than a hundred shadows on me that I could use. My fight with Kōshirō last week had me absorb more than three hundred. Those shadows were in a weakened state, and would still take some time to recover. Meanwhile, I could only carry so many shadows in my pockets. Not to mention, I needed to make new zombies to replace the ones I lost. I was really strapped for shadows, and useful corpses at the moment.

Releasing the shadows I had just absorbed, I stuffed the reduced things back into my pocket. Looking around, I spotted the Marine who served me the tea. I reached out my long arm, and held his entire body within my grasp.

"So you tried to kill me, huh?" The dazed Marine looked at me with a swirly look in the eye.

"Justice! You need to die, in the name of Justice!" The Marine fearlessly yelled at me, and struggled to draw his sword.

I applied some pressure, and heard bones cracking.

"Huh, ah? Where am I? Ah! Ah! Let me go! Help! Help!" As if awakening from a stupor, the Marine took one look at me, and tried to escape my grip.

"Begging won't work on me." With a dark look on my face, I prepared to squish the man, and toss him into the ocean. All of the sudden, I felt a large hand on my shoulder.

Hello, what's this? Popping out of me, a palm shaped bubble floated in midair. All the pain, anger, and poison had been pushed out of me. This was a level of relaxation I'd never felt in my life. Forget hot showers, sleeping in, a hot beverage on a cold day, or any kind of masseur!

"Wow, unreal. This is amazing! **This is incredible**! I feel great! I'm free! I'm alive! Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm awake, I'm wide awake!" I stood from my chair, and chanted towards the sky.

"You can put him down now Moria-san." A soft voice sounded out behind me.

Turning around, I caught sight of Bartholomew Kuma as he put his glove back on. I looked to the Marine in my hand, and had a moment of indecision. Kuma _did _just help me out…but I really wanted to kill this guy.

"I appreciate you helping me out Kuma, however. Why should I release him, he poisoned me!"

"Daddy." Kuma uttered one word, before taking a seat next to me.

"Excuse you?" I responded in shock. However, Kuma proceeded to ignore me, and began reading his bible.

With no answer forthcoming from him, I came to a decision.

"Eh, you don't make much sense Kuma, but I'll trade this one favor with you." I tossed the Marine to the side.

"It's the pain. He's no longer being controlled." Sitting on another chair, Mihawk swirled a glass of wine, and took a sip.

"Control?" I looked confusedly at the Marine. Something like Doflamingo's string string fruit? I gazed suspiciously in his direction.

Wait a tick. When did Mihawk have the time to sit down?

"Hmph. You could at least take a bath very now and then ingrate. And everyone knows about Wu Tang clans Daddy. The Okama's have placed a 500 million bounty on his head. I'm surprised you were targeted, you're not his type at all. Much to old, and fat." Boa Hancock made her way over, and sat at the chair furthest from me. She scrunched her nose in distaste at my appearance.

"Hey Hancock, are you familiar with the periodic table?" I turned towards her.

"The periodic what?"

"How about, the element of surprise?!" Up in the sky, Doppleman rested above Hancock. At that moment, I swapped out a large portion of my body, and wringed my clothes. As a result, a large portion of the black muck that had sweated out of my pours fell upon her. She was now entirely drenched.

"You. You. HOW DARE YOU!" Hancock gripped the table so hard, it looked like it would break.

"Careful now, she's a feisty one Moria-chan." Doflamingo had his hands in his pockets, observing it all with glee.

With a loud thump, sand was kicked up everywhere. Diverting my attention away from Hancock, a large figure made its way out of the dust.

"Typical pirate dogs. Turning on one another at the smallest slight. How I wish the government would end you all." Walking up to the table, the purple haired, black sunglasses wearing man took a heavy seat.

"Okay everyone, time to get out of the pool. It's senior citizens only time." Doflamingo smirked at the man.

"Bah! I may be up there in years boy, but I'm not senile. Care to test this old lion?" The gruff voiced man glared daggers at Doflamingo.

Both of their glasses sharpened in the sunlight. The purple haired man raised his right arm, a metallic claw opened and closed, prepared to crush. In response, Doflamingo held up his hand, I perceived more than a hundred tiny strings flailing, and trembling around his body.

At the same time, my attention was pushed back towards Hancock. Her killing intent was starting to leak out, and she grinded her teeth in anger. In response, I grinned, and wiped some of the grime off my chest.

Disembarking a Marine ship, Vice Admiral Tsuru, flanked by Vice Admirals Doberman, and Momonga arrived on the sand bar.

"Tch, while I'm here, the Whitebeard Pirates are regrouping. As happy as I'd be to let you idiots kill each other, we have a job to do. And I don't trust you all enough to complete this mission without oversight." Doberman crossed his arms, and scowled at us. He homed in on me, and wouldn't take his sight away.

"Ahem, thank you all for assembling. This time, we're here to take care of one of the recent Impel Down escapees. His name is Byrndii World. He has a mobile giant cannon island and is a grave threat to us all. With his devil fruit, he destroyed an entire kingdom with one blast. We're here to bring him to Justice." Momonga interrupted Doberman's tirade and got to the reason why we gathered.

"Welcome to the Shichibukai Zephyr." Tsuru focused on Z

She then turned to the rest of us. "And so many of you! You make an old women's heart aflutter." Her dry tone of voice was extra thick. When she surveyed us, she spent an additional few seconds observing Kuma.

Why would she? Oh. Oh! Yeah, why _is _Kuma here. Wasn't he supposed to have made a deal with the government? That he would guard the Straw Hats ship until one of them returned. Does this mean they're going to enter the Grand Line so soon?!

"Tsuru…call me Z. Those old fools told me I can finally kill that bastard if I took up this _job_." Z spat to the side in derision.

"The sooner we deploy, the faster we can put an end to this farce." Z crossed his arms, and turned his glare towards the Marines.

"No need to rush dear. Cipher Pol intercepted Byrndii's path. He'll be passing this sand bar very soon. You can finally get revenge for Elizabeth and Toki." Tsuru closed her eyes, and waited.

As if her words were some sort of prophecy, the moment her sentence ended, we all heard a whistle in the air. Kuma and I stood to meet the approaching threat. Heading right towards us was a cannon ball. If one measured it by size alone, the ball rivaled Earth's skyscrapers in height, and was unparallel in width. Strictly speaking, this was a weapon of epic proportions.

I was preparing to take action, when I saw the still sitting Doflamingo wave his head back from side to side in the negative. As a matter of fact, Mihawk, and Hancock had remained seated as well. The moment I turned back, I saw the blurry figure of Z hurdling towards the oncoming threat. Several haki empowered soru's made him move at a speed that could compete with the speed of my devil fruit! Seconds later, an explosion of monumental proportions shook the air. The shockwave created from Z's collision was enough to nearly capsize a Marine battleship. Several small tsunamis traveled out into the ocean.

Bouncing in midair, Z charged towards the enemy island turned ship. Suddenly, hundreds of cannonballs launched themselves towards us at incredible speed. I waved my hand, and dozens of shadowy crescents launched towards the cannonballs. Likewise, Doflamingo, and Mihawk swiped their hands once, sending criss cross strings and swords flying out. Kuma thrust his palm in the direction of the cannonballs, and a force reminiscent of Pein's shinrei tensei pushed the canonnballs back. Even Hancock launched a volley towards the cannonballs. Somehow, they turned to stone, and crumbled on their flight towards us.

I shockingly stole a peak of her out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't believe it. Yes, an inanimate object was susceptible to the charms of Boa Hancock! My shock aside, the casual combined attacks of five Shichibukai wasn't something to be underestimated. We decimated the attack headed our way, providing the perfect cover for Z to destroy the cannon.

"Open fire." Tsuru said quietly.

"Open fire!" Doberman was a second behind her.

"Vice Admiral! The Buggy Pirates have been spotted nearby, what should we do?!" A Marine saluted the trio.

"Ignore them, focus all firepower on World!" Tsuru commanded.

"Hai Vice Admiral!"

In response, the Marine battleships began firing nonstop on Byrndii World's ship. Explosions were constantly happening all over the place. A crowd of pirates was swimming out of the now exploding ship. At the sight, a smile graced my face.

"I'll take care of the grunts." Without waiting for any kind of response, I flew towards the swimming pirates. Last time I was fighting side by side the Shichibukai, most of the corpses were destroyed along with Marineford. This time, I can easily get a few dozen, maybe a hundred.

It would be a pain to transport this many guys back alive since I don't have a ship. Might as well collect their corpses. Flying above these men and women, I must appear to be a specter of death I mused. Small triangle shaped shadows, no bigger than a finger flew into the back of their skulls. Almost every single one was an instant kill. These guys were low level paradise mooks at best. It wouldn't surprise me if they had just entered paradise before getting shanghaied.

Every time I killed someone, I had Doppleman scoop them up, and then place them on a small platform of shadow I had conjured up.

Standing bored on top of my platform, I counted up the booty. "Five, twenty, fifty, two hundred. Not a bad haul!"

While I was counting up the corpses I had collected, explosions continued across the ship. "Sounds like a fierce battle, oh well, not my problem. This hazing experience for Z is alright in my book!" I clapped my hands in happiness. This was a great windfall after the losses against that samurai.

*whoosh*

"Dumbass, you think I didn't notice you! Counting up your dead nakama was all a bait!" A giant blue, haki encased fist, the size of a watermelon stuck out of my chest. My enemy had struck nothing but shadow. My observation haki told me of a presence in the water, furthermore, I felt the presence of a shadow nearby.

"It's a trap!" My opponent uttered in shock. He tried to remove his fist, but at the same time, two swords penetrated his back, holding him in place.

"Ki shi shi shi shi! You're going nowhere!" After I replaced my midsection, I had replaced my hands and arms with Doppleman's, thrusting the swords into the fishman's back.

I tried swapping my entire body with Doppleman, but felt a little resistance. Must be because of the haki empowered fist. I spent ten seconds condensing some of Doppleman's shadow, and finally switched places with him. At the same time, my opponent, who I could now identify as a large, sunglasses wearing fishman dropped into the water.

"Did I say you could go?" The moment he touched the water, a scoop made of shadow tossed him high, high into the sky.

The fishman balanced himself, and to my eye, turned invisible.

"Camouflage eh?" In response, I fired a stream of javelins into the sky. It only took a moment for me to find my target, my attack disrupted his technique. Visible now, he encased his fists in haki, and successfully punched his way downward.

"Heh, finally a normal person. This guy can't fly, or jump on air." I flew upwards towards the fishman. My swords at the ready. Shadow javelins, animals, and bullets flew towards him from all angles. A litany of cuts and lacerations saw him bleed copious amounts of purple blood. With a grim face, the fishman focused all of his haki, all of his strength into one fist, prepared to meet me with his all. Right when we were about to clash, I swapped with Doppleman who had been flying behind him.

With all of his strength concentrated in his fist, not to mention my quick speed, he had virtually no time to react.

I cleaved off his legs with one sword, and jabbed the other into the scapula of his left shoulder, completely paralyzing it. The now nearly lifeless fishman tumbled towards the ocean.

"Still alive!" Pulling him near me, I grinned in satisfaction. Taking a shadow from my pocket, I stuffed it into the fishman, stopping the bleeding. Forget two hundred corpses, a new minion capable of haki, that's what I'm talking about!

At the end of my fight, the explosions on the pirate ship had hit a crescendo. Z held Byrndii World up into the sky, and shouted something about atonement. Z then brought Byrndii's spine down onto his knee, and tossed him into the ocean.

At that, Z jumped forward, and landed on one of the Marine battleships, taking deep breaths from his inhaler. Huh, well I guess that settles that. Preparing to fly back to Thriller Bark, since I didn't want the Marine's to arrest my spoils of war, I was surprised when a shadow suddenly loomed over me.

Up in the sky, much higher than my altitude, more than a dozen islands floated up above.

The bloodied figure of Byrndii World gently floated upward towards the island.

"No. NO. **ELIZABETH!**" An enraged Z barreled up into the sky towards Byrndii.

*HOOONG*

Sparks flew, and Z was shoved down towards the ocean at mach speed.

"Jihahahahaha! Only Garp and Roger could challenge me! You are _nothing _before my eyes Zephyr! And you World, isn't this how I said it would end up? Come. Join your brothers. Eh, what's this? Captain Buggy, Roger's brat! You come aboard too!" The man with a pair of blades for legs, and a steering wheel lodged in his skull had everyone's attention after the brutal clash. He swooped down in a direction, and then rose back up with a pirate ship. Afterward, he turned toward the Marine flotilla.

"Listen up you World Government mongrels! My twenty year promise is almost up! The day of terror is almost upon you! For you face not just myself, but the elite of the elite! Byrndii World, the man who has the power to destroy the world. Sogeking, the ultimate warrior of the sea who single handedly destroyed Enies Lobby! Buggy the Clown, Red Hair's rival and former Roger crewmate. The former Shichibukai, and my fellow Impel Down escapee, Crocodile. Lastly, there's me, the Golden Lion Shiki. For twenty years I've toiled, soon, you will know suffering! All these men, each and every one of them is a King! We see how ineffective, how gutless the World Government is. The Kaizoku Sovereign Alliance will see this world burn! Jihahahahaha!" After his speech, Shiki retrieved Byrndii, and flew away.

* * *

**AN: The world is starting to spice up. Will the Straw Hats be "useless" in the coming fight? How are the Beast, Blackbeard, Whitebeard, Red Haired and Big Mom Pirates going to respond? The Kaizoku Sovereign Alliance isn't the only faction that's throwing its hat into the ring, I have two, maybe three or four more factions that you won't expect (hopefully). It's only going to get spicier, more chaotic as time progresses. **

**I decided not to have Kuma go full brainwashed cyborg. I thought that was a terrible waste of his character. **

**The fishman captured is named Sebastian, feel free to google him if you're confused. Moria didn't know his name, he was just some big blue fishman guy to him. **


	31. Interlude 2

**Interlude 2**

-Between Chapters 29-30-

"Hoh hoh Usopp-kun, you're a natural! In less than a month, you've fully grasped the method I taught you." A man in black armor shaped to resemble a beetle congratulated Usopp.

"You really think so Heracles-san? I mean, of course it was me, the great Captain Usopp who discovered the full potential of pop greens!" Usopp struck a pose, holding his slingshot aloft and gazing off into the horizon.

"Bravo, as expected of my star pupil! Wait until your friends see you now. Although, I'll be sad to see you go." A tear slid out of the corner of Heracles's helmet.

"Heracles-san.."

"No, no. Don't be sad, just an old man getting emotional. It's been twenty years since I last had human contact. This was nice. The important thing is that for every plant to grow the next generation, they must spread their pollen throughout the world. Go! Branch out into new depths, to unfound horizons! Become the King of Snipers that I know you can be! Follow your dreams, and when you become weary from the travel, enjoy retirement!"

"I'll never forget you Heracles-sa! Woah, what's that! Islands in the sky!" Stopping mid sentence, Usopp turned towards the approaching floating islands mouth agape.

"Stay hidden in the shadows Usopp-kun. I shall investigate! Kreeee!" Heracles cried out in a high pitch tone. Moments later, a giant beetle charged out of the forest. Heracles jumped onto its back, and flew towards the approaching islands.

"Man, anything can happen in the Grandline. I knew meeting Heracles was to good to be true. Something terrible is going to come from this, I just know it." Usopp began to panic, and work himself up into peak nervousness.

_**Clang**_

Clouds parted, and the sound of ringing metal sounded out for kilometers.

The grinding sound of metal on metal was soon to follow, as each combatant sought to push the other away.

"Jihahaha, I never expected to find an old friend out here in the boondocks!"

"Old friend? Old friend?! You. You're no friend of mine Shiki! You and everyone on that crew were demons!"

"JIHAHAHA! Yes, we were quite the wild bunch, every single one of us. Including you! I vividly remember the experiments you got up to! There isn't a biologist more feared in all the Blue's! You left that old man, and sought out _us_. Said he held you back from achieving perfection.

Don't play innocent now. It was you who destroyed that nation! It was _you _who implanted those vicious inventions of yours into the children. Don't deny it!"

Heracles felt his insides squirm, as the guilt of twenty years ago caught up to him.

In response, Shiki looked down at Heracles with a mixture of derision, and joy as his words hit home.

"I-I-I had good intentions!" Heracles stuttered.

"I-I-I" Shiki repeated Heracles' words, saying them in a mocking tone of voice.

"And did you ever succeed?" At this point, a deeply curious, ravenous look took place on Shiki's face.

"No." Heracles responded in a quiet voice.

"Tch. All you have to show for it is some dumb giant plants and animals. Creatures that act purely on instinct. What have you been doing out here all these years? Exiled yourself to this island in the middle of nowhere? All the life you took amounted to nothing in the end. Your dreams have fallen to the wayside. I can't imagine anyone more pathetic. I once considered dropping my dreams, giving it all away! But no! Not even decades in Impel Down broke my spirit! My fire burns strong, and yours can again too! Join me Heracles, and together we can make our dreams come true!"

Shiki pulled back from the power clash, and smiled magnanimously at Heracles.

"…If it was a month ago that you made this offer, I may've said yes. But things change. This mighty oak has seen it all, it's time to pass things on to the next generation."

"Hmph, so that's your answer then?" Shiki scowled. Without waiting for a reply, he lunged forwards, catching Heracles by surprise. Slashing his legs back and forth, the beetle Heracles was flying on was diced to pieces.

During their clash earlier, Shiki had placed his palm on Heracles's armor. As a result, Heracles was sent towards the ocean at mach speeds due to the power of Shiki's float-float fruit.

When Heracles began dropping towards the ocean, Shiki shouted out to him. "For the sake of our old friendship, I'll let you off this time! But in exchange, I'll take your remaining life's work! With this, my food supply is guaranteed, thank you my friend!"

"Who knew the plant you nurtured back then would turn into a giant island? Jihahaha!" Shiki mumbled to himself. He then flew towards the giant plant islands, and placed his hand on the soil supporting the island. Moments later, the plant floated in the air to join the rest of Shiki's collection.

"Heracles-san!" Usopp shouted in anger tinged with fear at the plummeting man. Moments later, Heracles collided with the water, eliciting a great crash.

Usopp stood still, and gripped his fists tight in anger.

"I have to save him…but how? And even if I could, that floating guy could chase me!" Sweat began to accumulate on his forehead, slowly dripping along his lengthy nose.

"No! I have to do something, I'm the Great Captain Usopp! Kreee!" Imitating the call Heracles did earlier, a giant beetle made its way over to him.

"Let's go save Heracles-san! Hyaa!" Usopp grit his teeth, imbuing himself with a false sense of courage. He nodded, thumbed the side of his nose, and jumped on top of the elephant sized beetle.

At the same time, the island had already joined the formation of floating islands. Usopp was hundreds of meters above sea level.

Mid flight, the beetle began to tremble.

"Beetle, what's wrong?"

"Chirp!"

"Huh? Stupid beetle, talk normal! Why did you start flying in the opposite direction! Heracles is down that way!" Usopp slapped the beetle's exoskeleton, and pointed towards where Heracles had fallen.

"Chirp chirp chirp!" The beetle replied and suddenly swooped downward.

A large talon similar in size to the beetle's whole body swiped downward exactly where the beetle had been a second ago.

"Hiii! Beetle, fly, fly faster! You can do it, I believe in you!" Usopp encouraged the beetle onward. With increasing speed, the bird, some cross between a seagull and eagle chased after them. Each time the bird caught up, the beetle would dodge at the last moment.

"Wait a minute, I have this! Eat fire bird, Burning Green!" Placing a special pop green in his slingshot, Usopp launched a flaming star at the giant bird.

The bird had moved in for another attack, and was about to strike the beetle. They were less than a car length away from one another when Usopp unleashed his attack.

The hit landed, and nothing happened for a second.

"Oh come on!" Usopp lowered his slingshot in despair.

The bird's eyes had a moment of panic and fear, showcasing some intelligence. However, realizing nothing had happened, it released a stronger murderous intent. It began to laugh as it closed the gap.

Suddenly, a large fiery explosion in the shape of a cross expanded outward, enveloping the bird.

"Huh, it worked? I, of course it worked! Yataa, success!" Usopp fist pumped.

However, Usopp's celebration was short lived. The explosion was so close, that the resulting shockwave sent him tumbling from the beetle's back.

'Is this it? Luffy, Nami, guys.' Usopp thought to himself as he fell from great heights.

"No I don't want to die!" Usopp cried out, closing his eyes.

"Huh, I'm not dead?" Opening his eyes, Usopp looked around in amazement. While Usopp thought he was going to fall to his death into the ocean, the truth was, he fell less than five meters onto the ground.

"OOOaahhh! Ah ah!" A pink shirted gorilla walked up to Usopp, making a loud ruckus.

"Oof!" Usopp began to get up, but fell down flat on his face. During the tumble, his mask had fallen out of his knapsack, and collided with his head when he hit the ground.

"Haah? Let me down you oversized Gorilla!" Usopp began beating on the gorilla's back to no avail.

The gorilla easily carried Usopp towards a group of buildings. When they reached their destination, the gorilla gently placed Usopp on the ground.

"AAHH AH AH!" The gorilla gently placed Usopp down inside the room. Dozens of workers sat at chairs staring at monitors, and interacting with den den mushi inside.

"Honk honk honk." A blue haired clown in a lab coat approached the gorilla. Each step of his long red clown shoes made a sound effect.

"Hmm, what have we got here, Doctor Indigo?" Shiki floated down from the sky and into the room.

"Apa! Cha, heheu!" Indigo danced left and right, formed a triangle with his arms, then raised his chin.

"Riiight." A drop of sweat fell down the back of his head, Shiki turned towards the Gorilla.

"And what about you Scarlet, what has you so excited?"

"Ooo, ooo, ooAHHH!" Scarlet rummaged through a sack, and pulled out a wanted poster.

-Sogeking: Wanted Dead or Alive. Bounty: 200,000.-

"Ah! Indigo, you were saying that this young man here is Sogeking, that guy who declared war on Enies Lobby. The guy who destroyed the entire island." Shiki slapped his fist into his open palm in realization.

"Who's Sogeking?" Shiki immediately asked afterward.

Indigo face vaulted, and Scarlet raised his arms.

"Alright, alright, I understand." Shiki waved his hand back and forth like a person waving away a potent stench from their nose.

"So how about it kid, want to join my crew? You've got big ones to declare war on the World Government like that." Grinning from ear to ear, Shiki crossed his arms, waiting for Usopp's reply.

Usopp began to panic on the inside. 'Damnit! I escape that bear guy a month ago. I landed on a man eating island. Now I have to deal with this maniac who has a steering wheel lodged in his head! Maybe if I say I'm a Strawhat, he'll let me go? No no no, he thinks I'm Sogeking! I have to act the part, otherwise, who knows what he'll do!'

"You hurt Hercu-Ahem, I the great Sogeking, King of all Snipers, warrior of the sea am a great man. Who are you to demand that I, King of Snipers, Sogeking join your crew?!" Usopp stood up, and assumed a haughty disposition.

"Jihahaha, you've got spunk! I'm glad you rejected my offer, you wouldn't be the man I thought you were if you accepted so easily! As to who I am? Has the world forgotten already? Boy, have you heard of that man, Roger? He was my rival! For I am the Golden Lion, Shiki!" At the end, Shiki held his arms up in an imposing manner. Scarlet and Indigo, along with all the staff inside the room began to clap uproariously.

In all the ruckus caused by the clapping, Usopp let out a small confused question: "Who?"

Shiki's ear twitched, and a scowl adorned his face. "Stop the clapping. I said stop the clapping!" Shiki pulled a gun from his waistcoat, and shot the last man to stop clapping. His corpse began to leak a small pool of blood. The workers in the room swiftly turned their attention to the screens in front of them.

"You mean to tell me, everyone has forgotten about the terror of Wano? The sole man to have escaped Impel Down? The only one to have destroyed half of Marineford? Ah? Ah?" A deranged look took place on his face. Shiki walked up to Usopp, and touched the barrel of his still smoking pistol to Usopp's cheek.

'That guy's not getting up. If I'm not careful, that could be me! This guy's ruthless, he didn't even stop talking, pause or stutter after killing one of his own nakama!' Usopp's gaze fell onto Shiki's latest victim. A look of panic slowly began to take shape all over Usopp's face.

'Fortunatly I have this mask on, otherwise, who knows what this Shiki guy would do to me if he saw my expression right now!' Usopp bemoaned to himself.

"Huh?! Ahahaha! Well about that. Marineford was destroyed by Blackbeard, and uhh Impel Down just had a mass breakout. Ooop!" Usopp nervously recounted past events, and quickly put a hand over his mouth.

"Jihahaha! Jihahaha! I'm old and forgotten is what you're saying?!" Shiki staggered back from Usopp's words. It was as if he had taken physical blows to his body.

Shiki raised his gun.

Usopp gasped, knuckles turned white from gripping his giant slingshot.

And Shiki sheathed his gun.

"I misspoke earlier. Not only do you have the big ones, you have a pair to spare! Backtalking to me like that, brings back memories of my kohai! That dumbass dragon was always looking for a fight, jihahaha! You can't join my crew, I see that now!"

'Few! Is he going to let me go?!' Usopp thought to himself.

"I should've realized it from the beginning, it's in your name! No normal man could stand before me as calm and collected as you! Sogeking, King of all Snipers, join my Kaizoku Sovereign Alliance! Together, we'll rule the world!"

* * *

_Click_

Absalom scratched the back of his head in frustration at the end of the call.

"Captain doesn't think I called him a government dog, right?" Absalom asked himself as he disembarked his boat.

Yellow stood by a carriage to greet Absalom, and thoughtlessly replied: "Haha, yep!"

"I do believe he may be drawn to that conclusion." Kuro likewise stood by to receive Absalom's return.

Soft laughter traveled from the boat, drawing everyone's attention.

"Angel!" Absalom's eyes swooned, and he squirmed at the attention. All fear of future retribution dismissed for temporary bliss.

"The mission Moria-sama assigned I presume?" Kuro replied sardonically.

Absalom still in a rapturous state completely ignored him.

In response, Kuro clenched his fist while maintaining a flattering smile. "Don't keep us in suspense sir. Introduce the young belle."

"You're right Kuro! Everyone on Thriller Bark should get a good look at her. Then they'll know what they can't have. Guards! Escort the prisoner to the mansion. Remember Captain's orders, political prisoners are not to be harmed!"

"Aye!" Standing one in front, and one behind, the guard zombies escorted the prisoner down the gangplank and on to the dilapidated pier.

"Yellow, see to it that Nojiko receives the best treatment! I mean the fluffiest pillows, the cleanest sheets, the finest food!" Absalom ticked off his fingers one by one, taking the matter with extreme seriousness.

"Uhh, sure, sure Erosalom!" Yellow chimed loudly, and escorted the blue haired hour glassed beauty away.

When showing her back to the pair of men, Absalom's mouth began to water uncontrollably. Drool began to patter on the ground uncontrollably. It didn't end until Absalom let out a sigh of contentment.

Kuro's eyes flashed with disdain; however, the flattering smile never left his face.

"A clever tactic sir. I believe the method you're using is excellent for lowering the targets guard. Whatever purpose Moria-sama has in capturing her, your tactic is sure to be in our favor." Kuro praised.

"What?" Startled out of his stupor, Absalom wiped off the remaining drool with the back of his sleeve.

"Your technique. I do believe it would be beneficial for inducing what is referred to as Stockholm Syndrome. Quite clever if I do say so myself." Kuro pushed up his glasses, deep in thought.

"Technique? Oh, tactics! So, you do understand women! I thought all you could do was smile and crunch the numbers." Absalom looked at Kuro like he was seeing him for the first time.

"That's not what I-"

"C'mere brother! I haven't met a man of culture in years!" Absalom embraced Kuro in a manly hug, patting him roughly on the back.

"Whooo" Kuro let out a wheeze of air from the vigorous back pounding. His face hidden from sight and currently over Absalom's shoulder began to look more and more manic.

"Well that's that! Say Kuro, gather Perona, Kenji, and Saga along with their personal crew. The living ones that is. Captain gave me some instructions, gather up their fingernails. Today you'll experience the miracles of origami." Absalom chuckled to himself, and turned away from Kuro. He began to whistle a chipper tune while walking away.

Kuro wildly began to inhale and exhale. His body had a slight tremble to it.

"Hey buddy, you alright?" A concerned zombie from the ship placed a hand on Kuro's shoulder.

At the sensation of contact, Kuro's body went deathly still. Like a switch had been flicked, Kuro stopped all movement.

"Fine. Fine, what fine weather we're having today." Without a further word, Kuro turned around, and walked toward the mansion to carry out his tasks.

"That four eyes punk didn't mess with you, did he Jerry?" A zombie on the ship asked.

"Nah, I think he was just having a bad day was all."

"Makes sense, makes sense. Uhh one thing though."

"What's up?"

"Did you always have finger sized holes riddling your body?"

"Maybe?"

"Maybe!? Jerry, how does that add up?"

"I don't know!" Jerry responded in panic.

After a moment of stillness, and nothing happening, all tension left their shoulders.

"Eh, just another Monday. Zombie Night?"

"Zombie Night!"

Both zombies grinned at each other in anticipation, their woes quickly forgotten.

* * *

Within a dimly lit room, two figures sat across from one another. The tension had been building for some time until one of them broke the silence.

"I'll admit, never expected you to know my name. You've got my attention, what do you want?" A sword wielding man sat with his fingers crossed. His expression was stoic in the presence of his guest.

"What do I want? No, no, no, I believe I'm here to discuss what _you _want." A cloaked figure responded.

"If you're here to play games, then I'm out. Ro-"

"You wouldn't want his death to be in vain, would you? The man who gave you life." The cloaked figure leaned in close, anticipating what was to come.

The swordsman stumbled in his action.

"The thing's that happened to poor Ro-"

"Shut up! Don't you dare say his name!" The previously sitting, and taciturn swordsman stood in a hurry. Fierceness and savagery entered his eye.

"Hoh hoh, and I thought the boy had no teeth. Little did I know, you were quite the romantique! It's only our first date, and you've stolen my heart!" The cloaked man mocked.

"Enough games! How do you know all this! What do you want?! Did Joker send you?! The swordsman took threatening steps toward the still sitting figure.

"Help me. Help you. Help me."

"I want answers!" The swordsman held up his hand, and squeezed his hand as an act of aggravation.

"In simple terms, an alliance. More specifically, a trade. I know what you want. I can help you obtain that desire. In return…"

"With you?" A skeptical look took place on the swordsman's face. At the same time, his posture became more relaxed. His arm descended, and a calculative look took place on his face.

"If. And I mean if! If I was to work with you, what do you want?"

"What was it you had promised him? You know what one of your capabilities can offer. A life for a life. This is my offer."

"That's…" The swordsman looked down. Inside his mind, despair warred with hatred in a struggle of dominance.

Tidal waves of despair crashed upon his psyche. His primal instinct for survival was crying out at him, telling him to turn back. That another option would present itself. At the same time, molten magma that had long lain dormant within his veins had finally found an outlet. This was a chance. Perhaps the only chance to realize his goal! In a violent, chaotic surge, his hatred had transcended its lava like state, and erupted onto the scene.

An ashy fugue clouded the swordsman's mind. His anger, his rage and anger had overtaken the despair. No longer was he adrift in the sea, bereft of rudder, sails torn. He was offered a deal by Davy Jones, but what option did he have.

"I'll take it." Hatred burning in his veins, the swordsman shook hands with the Devil.

"Wise decision. I have a plan, and can help you on your quest. All it requires is patience. After all, what's a little time here and there compared to that sweet satisfaction you've been craving?"

A crooked smile plastered itself across the swordsman's face. "Of _course_ there would be strings attached."

"There always is my friend, there always is!" The cloaked figure stood to his full height, and made to leave the abode.

"Mm, here you can take this back." The swordsman held up his previously clenched hand and acted like he was going to return something.

"No need, no need!"

"Huh?" The swordsman's hand grip had suddenly turned empty. Sufficiently distracted, and surprised by the turn of events, the swordsman didn't notice the cloaked man's departure. All that kept him company in the room was a small lightbulb, and the surrounding darkness.

* * *

**AN: Will probably never write from Usopp's perspective again. I don't think I did his character justice. Maybe as a tool for exposition regarding Shiki. Idk. I might write a small Luffy segment in the future to see how the butterfly effect plays out. What do you guys think? **


	32. Chapter 32

After successfully capturing the blue and blind fishman, I decided to fly back to Thriller Bark. The whole point of this Shichibukai assembly was to kill or capture Byrndii World. With him gone, I saw little point in remaining. However, the Golden Lion threw a wrench in those plans. Sure, each of us Shichibukai besides maybe Hancock could chase after him, but Shiki flew off with our quarry, and I wasn't about to get entangled with the man who once upon a time rivaled Roger. Washed up or not, he was a threat I had no intention of provoking. At least not with this untrustworthy lot. No. Better to head back, train up my forces, and prepare for my next conquest.

Looking down at my catch, a wide grin spread across my face. I may've left all those New World pirate corpses to sink into the ocean during my fight, but this guys shadow would more than make up for it. Currently, my observation haki was at a very low level. Not only that, but it wasn't some ability I had learned wholly on my own. I had to rely on the crutch that is Gedatsu, one of the Skypians under Enel. He was one of the bottom tier villains in One Piece. The haki skills he knew reflected that. The observation haki I learned from Gedatsu was _weird_. The sensations I felt were difficult to describe. Suffice to say, I may now have an inkling of what a high functioning person with autism feels.

When I activated observation haki via Gedatsu's method, I was hyper focused to an insane degree. Nothing could escape my awareness; it was quite honestly the querist experience. Like a drunk who thought he could see everything, _except I could_. The major drawback was that this usage of haki massively drained my mental space, and that was on top of the drainage I felt after extensive devil fruit activities. Now that I had captured a blindman, what method of observation haki would I learn this time? Echolocation perhaps?

I licked my lips in anticipation. Each prisoner added to my arsenal. Even someone who would easily lose to me in a fight could teach me valuable skills. Doctors, artists, engineers, martial artists. I could learn it all! My gamer instincts to hoard began to kick in, and I lovingly stroked the half dead, very unconscious fishman's head.

"You're a gift that won't stop giving my friend. As my future haki teacher, should I address you as Sensei? Ha ha ha!" Mad laughter filled with glee spread across the vast empty ocean.

Suddenly, I cut all laughter. An ominous premonition struck me causing me to stop in my tracks. My devil fruit gave me a connection to all shadows. Especially those near me. After learning and understanding shadow reading, shadows of things near me become particularly distinct. My connection with shadows was setting of alarm bells in my head. Gazing about, I spotted a small galley floating on the ocean. Moments later, a massive shadow approached the ocean's surface.

Emerging from the water, a massive being, mouth wide swallowed the galley whole. The creature, a yellow-brown Seaking of impossible proportions made eye contact with me for a moment, before it swooped back into the water. A mighty crash soon followed, the water dispersed in small tsunamis out into the horizon.

Mouth agape, a cold sweat began to form on my back. My hands shook, at the sight. That, that _thing _was larger than the island I had obliterated! The creature resembled no fish I knew. Massive jagged teeth as large as mountains, a pair of crimson eyes like blood moons. What a horror!

"How the hell do you people deal with these things!" I shouted out to myself in both outrage and disbelief.

Images of Luffy, Zoro and company casually beating Seakings for their food flashed through my mind.

"Bullshit!" I unceremoniously blurted out.

After a moments thought, I patted my racing heart, shrugged my shoulders let out a breath and resumed my flight.

*Sheew* A sharp whistling noise followed by the sound of a sonic boom swiftly approached my position.

"From above?!" In seconds, the whistling noise reached its crescendo, and the reason soon became clear.

I looked up to meet the attack, but the glare from the sun made it near impossible to see what was coming. Acting on instinct, I replaced positions with Doppleman, who had been flying hundreds of meters behind which was now my standard operating procedure while traveling. Looking ahead, I saw the result, a massive arrow covered in haki just about pierced Doppleman. Fortunately, he opened up a hole in his body, and the arrow harmlessly passed through. Furious at my past fights, including the one earlier in the day, I made sure Doppleman evaded this haki empowered attack.

"And to think I had just bragged to myself about the powers of haki, and shadow reading! Ha! To ambush me, lying in wait at the same flight path I took to the Shichibukai meeting you must be quite confident. Ki shi shi, I hope they're prepared for my retaliation!" I muttered to myself, an expression of murder evident upon my face.

As soon as I swapped places with Doppleman, I formed a new shadow shaped surfboard, and began to shoot large swarms of shadow javelins towards my opponent. Meanwhile, I searched for my captured fishman. Smiling in relief, his bound crippled body was still tethered to my previous surfboard shaped shadow. Directing the board my way, I fired a new wave of javelins as covering fire, and started analyzing my situation.

"Should I close the distance and bash that archer up?" Scratching my chin, I briefly considered taking a swipe with my swords, archers were stereotypically weak at melee. However, getting close to an experienced archer was something I didn't have high confidence in. Especially during a sky battle.

Attempting to get a better read on my enemies' position, I squinted my eyes against the sharp glare of sunlight. I gently rose higher to an elevation that was level with them. Maintaining their distance, I could barely make out their figure. All I could tell was that it was a woman riding some sort of red feathered griffon eagle thing. My musing was interrupted by her retaliatory attack.

*Sheew Sheew Sheew* Swiftly after my javelins entered her airspace, hundreds of arrows countered my attack. The haki encasing the arrows broke my shadows. However, the sheer speed and momentum of my attack saw the arrows lose their direction. I barely had to move to the side to dodge one or two. The rest sailed me by harmlessly.

I sent another wave of shadows her way. Mixing in with the javelins, I sent a host of animal shaped shadows. Now that I had gained a second to think, and not mindlessly counter attack like when I swapped with Doppleman, I began to direct my shadows.

She fired her arrows to counter my attack again, perfectly countering my linear based javelins.

I sat on my surfboard shaped shadow like a monarch looking down upon the world smiling in delight at her actions. "Gotcha."

Some of the bigger animal shadows sent her way divided into fourths. Each quarter of a shadow construct wrapped itself onto an arrow, and dragged it down. This move took up half of the shadows I sent her way, however, hundreds more rushed towards her. Not only that, but I began to launch a third, a fourth, and a fifth wave of shapes, javelins, and animals her way. Each attack fast as light.

Under pressure, the bird began to take evasive maneuvers. It dove in every direction: swooping down, diagonally, up. All the while, the archer on the birds back wised up, and began to focus solely on attack.

Arrows flew my way, now from all sorts of angles. With perfect accuracy, she began to do trick shots. Arrows bounced off other arrows, some even bounced off my shadow attacks, or sent them back my way. In a moment where I was distracted by her performance, an arrow came dangerously close to piercing my head. The arrow, longer than two people stacked standing on top of one another just barely grazed my cheek. While it was 'just a graze' the force and power behind the attack was enough to tear a large chunk of flesh off my face.

I felt slightly woozy, and almost lost control of my shadows. The attacks sent her way paused for a moment giving her an opening. Now on the defensive, I began to fly away at all sorts of angles while she chased.

I sent my shadows to flank her from below, behind and above. However, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a mental connection with the shadows I had released. Primarily because of my attention being absorbed with dodging, and countering her attacks.

"Ugh, this stalemate will go on forever. All it would take is for a couple more lucky strikes, and I'll lose this fishman to her arrows or the ocean. Possibly even my life. Should I disengage and fly away? Will she follow me?" Bitterness, and resentment began to bubble up. A feeling of unease wormed its way into my stomach.

I quickly absorbed a shadow to heal myself. I found that the supply I had left in my pockets had been dwindling rapidly. Tch. I would have to soon find a remedy to this debacle. In the meantime, upon absorbing the shadow, a sharp stinging sensation spread across my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw raw flesh and blood bubbling, when a new, pristine coat covered what was once missing.

A grim look took place in my eye. She wasn't anything like the swordsman I had fought. However…this was no easy enemy. Would I have to use shadow armor? I was extremely hesitant to do that, even more so than using one or two shadows to heal. I had dozens of shadows that were no bigger than wisps. I had been healing people in the Goa Kingdom plaza earlier, and used a dozen in my fight with the fishman.

Grimacing, I prepared to use up my small supply of shadows to draw this fight to a close.

Right when I thought this fight would be one of those 'legendary' days long conflicts, or one that could come to a tragic ending, the archer's frequency of attack began to dwindle.

"Hm?! Wait a minute, does this mean?...Aha! She is starting to run out of arrows! I have to outlast her, then we'll see how she fairs." I began to laugh to myself. A savage smile blossomed across my face.

When her attacks came less and less, I decided to fully engage my observation haki. My focus became hyper aware, and zeroed in on the bird. After so much time had passed, I finally got a good look at my enemy. A green haired women similar in height to Doflamingo wore a chest full of plate armor, and a skirt reminiscent of Roman legionary design stood upon the bird. Her massive war bow could almost match me in size. She had a mole below her lip, and was of a tan complexion that reminded me of the Brazilians.

All in all, she was an attractive woman. That being said, her beauty wasn't going to save her once I had her in my clutches. One way or another, as a shadow or as a corpse, she would serve as a tool to further my ambitions.

In a moment of clarity, one of my attacks finally landed. The wing of the bird, was pierced through. The moment that happened, a chain reaction of events took place. My follow up attacks reached the bird, filling it with holes. One of the javelins even pierced the green haired woman's chest!

"Ohh if I could capture her alive." A gleeful twinkle took place in my eye as I flew towards her.

While she was tumbling toward the ocean, I noticed an expression on her face. The air felt stale. A murderous killing intent erupted from her.

"What!" Was all I got out, before an arrow pierced me deep in the shoulder from behind.

My observation haki, focused entirely on the woman was what allowed me to land my attack. The thing that confirmed my victory saw to my injury! With all the tricks she was capable of, she must've looped the arrow behind my back!

"Fuuuck!" I roared in pain.

In an adrenaline fueled rage, I reached around to rip it out. However, that feeling of wooziness was back again. Suddenly, my control over my devil fruit disappeared! The surfboard shaped shadow, any shapes I had maintained in the sky disappeared!

Free falling towards the ocean, a wave of emotions hit me. Fear, anger, pain. Barf escaped my mouth as weakness continued to oppress me.

"What, what is this?" I asked aloud, as if some kind stranger would point me in the right direction.

Every second that ticked by, I moved closer and closer to the ocean. No matter how I willed my power, not a single shadow answered my call. My life flashed before my eyes, even if I could survive the fall from this height like Kaido did, the ocean would kill me because it cancels out devil fruits.

"Wait a minute! The ocean would kill me because it cancels out devil fruits! What else cancels out devil fruits? Sea stone prism!"

After my realization, I mustered all the strength I could gather, and began furiously digging into my shoulder.

"Ah." I let out a soft gasp in pain.

However, my action persisted. Soon I was rewarded with a pop. I let out a string of curses, before triumphantly tossing the bloody arrow head away. Not a moment to soon, since the ocean was becoming increasingly close. I estimated I'd hit the water in less then 45 seconds at the rate I was falling.

"Okay, up up and away!" I tried to summon my shadow surfboard, only for nothing to happen.

"No. No. NO!" Shouting furiously, and consequences be damned, I began to maliciously dig into my shoulder with extreme prejudice. I practically ripped out my shoulder in the next half minute.

Finally, my actions bore fruit. My connection with the surrounding shadows became clear as it used to be. Without a second thought, I summoned my shadow surfboard, and stopped my momentum. I had been a few meters away from going splat.

Gritting my teeth, I felt around for the shadows in my pocket. Absorbing more than 20 shadows, my size increased by more than 3 dozen centimeters while my shoulder began to reshape itself.

"Ah ah ah! Motherfu-." Cussing up a storm, I clenched my teeth in great pain, and gripped my fists tightly during the procedure.

Fortunately, even when I was under the effect of the sea stone, they remained in my pockets. I didn't have an explanation for this, I was no devil fruit scientist. Maybe my power had some commonalities with Luffy's? Even if he's under water, or wearing seastone cuffs, he's still a rubberman. He can still stretch; he just has little to no control of his body.

The moment when I thought I was safe, and it was all over, the unconscious body of the fishman fell on top of me.

"Oof!" Surprisingly, the strike didn't really hurt me. If anything, I was stunned. I had a pretty strong body. If it wasn't a haki powered attack, or a devil fruit ability, I had confidence in my defense.

Looking at him, it appeared that despite his prior injuries, a fall from that height wasn't enough to kill him either.

"Hmph." Crisis over, I scanned my surroundings, searching for the woman.

"There! She must be nearby that bird corpse!" A pool of ever expanding blood began to dilute into the ocean near a half submerged bird.

When I was about to swoop down to take a look, that same premonition I had earlier took hold. Within seconds, that same Seaking from earlier opened its maw, swallowing the bird whole. Once again, it eyed me for a moment before lurching back into the ocean.

"Well there goes my bonus." I looked down dejectedly. I was truly looking forward to taking her shadow. Snipers were a genuinely rare case in the Grandline. Yasopp, Usopp, that melon head I killed at Marineford, and that guy on Black Beard's crew. For all intents and purposes those might as well be all the snipers in One Piece.

"Tsk tsk!" Looking at the water one last time, I took flight following my vivre card to Absalom's position.

…

Minutes later, the green haired woman's head broke the surface. Gasping for breath, she grasped her chest in an attempt to stymie the bleeding.

"Damnit Kōshirō, you couldn't have just stayed retired on that little island in the weakest Blue." Coughing out blood mixed with sea water, she struggled to take off her plate. She then tore her clothes, tightly wrapping them around her gaping chest wound.

"My my, what a display."

Mid tying the knot on her bindings, the woman paused, frozen in all action.

"Oh no, don't stop on my account, I think we'll be _great _friends."

"But how. How did you know I was still alive, the Seaking ate all the evidence!"

"Ah, but that would be telling. Now be a good dear, and climb aboard. Say hi to your new companion. I haven't learned his name yet, and I doubt I'll need to know yours. You'll make the perfect pair!" With a chipper tone of voice, I lifted the green haired woman out of the water.

"Die!" She reached for a dagger hidden in her waist, and made to stab me.

"Hm!" Squeezed like a tube of tomato paste, the girl vomited blood all over my chest. Too tired to care about the mess, I placed her onto my shadowboard. I gave her a once over. Her legs were lame, her breathing labored, but she was alive.

Sighing in relief, I scanned my surroundings, and resumed my flight home.


	33. Chapter 33

Between my morning flight to the Shichibukai meeting and the afternoon fight, it wasn't until well past midnight that I returned to Thriller Bark.

*Thump*

Dropping my two prisoners heavily on the ground, I prowled into the base of the Castle Mast. Doppleman dragging the two unconscious prisoners behind me. My eyebrows knit in anger the more I thought about the green haired arrow lady. Before her capture, she had muttered something about Kōshirō, that damned swordsman. That meant between her, and this _Daddy _figure, I had two assassination attempts in the same day!

"Unacceptable." I gnashed my teeth, and clenched my fists in rage as I stomped down the corridors. The stone slabs crackled with each step I took.

My shoulder was _sore _to high heaven, it hurt just to lift the damn thing. Easily a 7 out of 10 on the pain scale. I needed a new pair of clothes _again_. And those bloody assassins know where I am! They could strike at any time!

I glanced again at the green haired tan beauty and frowned. My stitch work and a single shadow saw to her continued life. I couldn't bare myself to kill her, for her shadow was to valuable. However, I was determined to interrogate her tonight. To discover anything and everything I could about the Wu Tang Clan.

"B-b-boss!" A painting zombie squeaked in surprise as I passed by.

Without breaking stride, I barely sent the zombie a glare before the shadow binding it together found its way into my pocket.

"And here I thought all you useless zombies had been appropriated for factory work. Or at least taught to shoot." I shook my head in disappointment. Clearly Absalom had been slacking.

Going down one last flight of stairs, and turning the corner, I finally reached my destination. The Frozen Block.

"Hmm, who would be down here at this time of night? Perhaps it's Hogback going over the stock? And why isn't this space known as the Freezer Block instead? Freezer sounds so much better than frozen. Hm?" Interrupted from my rambling, noise echoed from within the cavernous Frozen Block. Hearing voices, I paused for a moment to listen in. The two assassination attempts had put me in a heightened state of vigilance. Who's to say an assassin wouldn't lie in wait down here, at the depths of my stronghold? Was it paranoia edging me on?

With great care, I looked left and right, before attaching myself to the dark of the ceiling. I then broke a sliver of shadow from Doppleman off of the main body. Slipping the sliver of shadow under the door, I replaced a portion with my right eye and ear to observe the interior.

* * *

"Haah haa! Five hundred bodies! HUNDRED! We're going to win the competition! The prize worth 5 million beri will be all ours!" El Drago clad in golden armor stood before a pile of corpses. More than half of the bodies were in perfect condition. A small incision on the chest being the only visible damage.

A zombie beside El Drago recorded the corpses characteristics on a sheet of paper.

"Idiot!" A slap rang out.

Letting out a growl, Saga strode over to El Drago's prone form. His boot rested upon El Drago's neck. "You mean _my _prize!"

El Drago gagged, and attempted to pry Saga's boot away from his throat, golden nails helplessly scraping against the leather. His action only redoubled Saga's determination.

"Cleaning up bandits and pirates out here in East Blue is a grave misuse of my talents. I could be training up blindly loyal cannon fodder or increasing my martial dao. Instead, I'm saddled with incorruptible zombies, and useless trash like you. Your only aspiration is gold. How pitiful." Saga took his boot off El Drago, and kicked him into the pile.

As an afterthought, Saga muttered to himself "The only thing keeping me around here is that decrepit monsters promise. Once I learn the secrets to haki from those shadows of his, he'll never see me again."

Gasping for air, El Grago jumped out of the pile in fright. "But what about the vivre cards that lion face made for us?"

A dark look covered Saga's eyes.

Just as it appeared Saga was going to take further action, a group of people made their way toward the Frozen Block.

"You are a great warrior Kenji-san." Golass's lanky arms slapped his belly in mirth. His feathered headdress shifted along with his every step.

"Ehh, I'm not all that." Kenji rubbed the back of his head. A pink tint rose to his cheeks in embarrassment.

"It's true! I've seen many a killer during my journey. You're much more than that, a true _warrior. _In my tribe, a man like you, one who honors his ancestors, and fights to protect, why, he would be the pride of us all." Golass smiled.

Kenji smiled at the praise, and then grimaced at what Golass said. "Since we turned most of the guys in to the Marine's for the bounty, we won't win the reward Moria is offering. I know I promised to help you and your tribe, but I couldn't see these people enslaved by that monster. Even if they are criminals. Keep the money we earned from the bounties; you need it more than me."

"I, I, thank you. It's okay Kenji-san, I know your heart is in the right place. It's a shame these few didn't answer your call for surrender."

Behind Golass and Kenji, a small troop of zombies carried a dozen corpses behind them towards the Frozen Block.

Upon their entry, Saga's attention was averted from the cowering El Drago.

"Well well well, if it isn't mushroom boy, and the poor excuse for a swordsman. Here to deposit your spoils of war hm? I'm afraid that pitiful sum isn't anywhere near mine. Talent is truly a dying bread in these waters." Saga's previously angered expression had turned into one of pure mockery. He crossed his arms, and leaned against a pillar. His cold face morphed into a small smirk, however, his eyes remained cold and uninviting.

All Golass's cheer and bravado sapped out of his body.

Tugging on Kenji's shoulder, Golass muttered to him: "He's trying to provoke you, let's dump these bodies here and leave. Otherwise, if we cause a scene down here, forget about Saga, what about Moria?"

Gritting his teeth, Kenji swallowed his pride and turned back to leave.

"What's the matter pretty boy? You're useless without your girlfriend to back you up!" El Drago stood next to Saga, and threw a barb at Kenji's departing back.

"Horo horo horo! What's this? What's this?! You're sooo brave attacking my adorable Kenji like that. Not! You gold fetish creep!" Perona's voice echoed around the room.

Soon after her declaration, she launched an attack at the hapless gold lover.

"Gold is worthless. Why did I ever have such a perverted fetish?" Falling to his knees, all color left El Drago's face.

"Perona-sama?!" Kenji cried out.

Both Saga and Kenji looked around the room wearily.

"Keeeenjiiii! You're no fun, I said to call me Perona. Perona!" Perona's floating form became visible in the middle of the chamber.

"Were, were you following me?" Kenji asked completely bewildered.

"Ah! Ahh, you whats his name, Saga! How dare you not great me, the great Perona-sama!" Ignoring Kenji and changing the subject, she shot a negative ghost Saga's way.

"Conquering the world. How childish could I be? With the kind of strength I have…I'm so weak. I said that poncho wearing guy was the weak swordsman, but the truth is, I was projecting!" Saga fell to his knees in a major depression.

"Hmph. Hmph. Hmph. And don't you forget it. Besides, five hundred? Psha! I captured over one thousand _alive_. Each one is worth double. I win!" Perona berated the two depressed men. She began clapping happily to herself, and looked to Kenji for approval.

Kenji had a stunned look on his face.

"O-one thousand!?" Kenji looked at Golass to see that their faces were mirrored in surprise.

"Well?" Perona asked.

"Well what?" Kenji scratched the back of his head again. Feeling as if he'd start to grow a bald spot at the rate he was going.

"Y-you don't care! Waaaagh!" Lip quivering, Perona cried. A group of negative ghosts spread out of her uncontrollably. Dozens of the things swirled around her forming a tornado.

El Drago tanked six, and passed out frothing at the mouth.

One passed near Kenji, and struck Golass.

"All my life, I killed to raise gold. To lift my people out of slavery. Now I realized, my best hope to free my people is the very thing I detest above all else. I want to kill myself." Golass fell to his knees, tears brimming from his eyes. He slowly drew his sword.

"Golass!" Kenji shoved Golass's sword back into its sheath.

Turning his attention to Perona, Kenji felt helpless.

"Uh, ah, you. Your success was as expected. Perona-sa. Perona! You will be sure to do Moria-sama proud!" Kenji said towards her.

"You *hic* you really think so?" The astral Perona rubbed her tear stained cheeks, and began to calm down.

The storm of negative hallows swirling around her slowly died down. However, at least half a dozen still traveled around the room. One came dangerously close to striking Golass again.

"And. And. Your success was, was as expected. You're. You're. You're beautiful!" Kenji grit his teeth, closed his eyes and stumbled over the praise. A strong feeling of duress took place in his heart.

"Oh Kenji!" Perona through herself into Kenji, only to phase through him.

"Eh heh, like this, we'll never be separated!"

"Yeah. Never be separated." Kenji looked at the ground in gloom. However, an indescribable happiness bubbled up in his heart. What, what was this feeling? Kenji clutched his chest in confusion and bewilderment.

"Eep, Moria-sama, what are you doing here?!" Perona cried out.

* * *

After witnessing the series of events, I decided it was safe to enter the room, and revealed myself. Some of the anger that had been boiling within me and ready to erupt had simmered down. The knowledge that my forces were once again about to increase was a balm to my aggrieved heart. The recent losses in my consecutive fights, both in shadows and manpower were a serious blow to my power. Seeing it increase bit by bit put a spring in my step, and a smile on my face.

"Over one thousand prisoners captured alive. _Very well done _Perona!" I approached the projection, reached out a hand, and mimed patting her head.

"Moria-sama, stop!" Perona looked at Kenji, then at the ground in embarrassment.

"Ki shi shi shi, I'm so _proud _of you Perona. I wholeheartedly expected Saga to win this contest. However, the results speak for themselves. You are the Thriller Bark Pirates pride and joy. You've put a smile on this old man's face."

"Outou-san!" Tears started streaming down her face. She rushed to give me a hug.

"Oof!" She flew right through me. In the process, most of the fake feelings of love and pride I had been projecting towards her began to feel genuine.

"What the?" Perplexed, I looked down at the girl bawling on the floor. A slight urge to protect this slip of a thing emerged in my heart.

*cough cough*

I coughed to mask my slip of the tongue, and buy myself a second to regain my train of thought.

"As expected of my little genius. The training Red had you undertake must've been effective. However, I can't only attribute this to Red, you are also to be commended. On your own initiative, you approached me, and promised to up your training. The results of today are based largely, if not entirely on your own merit. Tomorrow, we shall celebrate!"

"Training?" Perona's faucet like tears diminished at the word. A hint of sourness tinged her voice from the simple question.

"That's correct, your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I will do my best to gift you a reward reflective of your contributions." Nodding and smiling at her, a magnanimous feeling of generosity was bubbling up within me. Perona had such a powerful devil fruit, and she's not an outsider like Kenji or Saga. Rewarding her more than I had initially planned wasn't such a bad idea.

"Reward? Ehh heh heh, uhm..Moria-sama, uhh, can I take a vacation?" Perona looked down and pushed her index fingers together reminiscent to a certain Naruto character.

So it's back to Moria-sama now eh?

"Hm sure, I suppose a vacation could be in order…however, how exactly would you want to go on vacation?" I asked, confusion written all over my face.

"I mean, like, a staycation! I want to be here, at Thriller Bark, relaxing in my Wonder Garden. You know, playing with Kumashi and stuff!" Perona started her sentence off slow, but towards the end, she spat the words out so fast, I almost couldn't understand what she was saying.

Looking at her with a face of disbelief, I saw her ears slowly become a particular shade of red.

After enough time had passed to make the situation awkward for the both of us, I shook myself out of my stupor.

"Granted."

"Hee hee hee, thank you Otou-san! See you around Kenji~" Waving goodbye, Perona disappeared through the ceiling wall.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Kenji plucked the back of his head.

From my height, I could see a small bald spot begin to develop on the back of the youth's head. Poor lad.

Releasing a sigh, it was time for things to get a bit more serious. I took a look at Kenji and Saga within the corpse filled, exceptionally chilled room. Oars's giant corpse, along with the stacked body parts of various species made for an exceptionally imposing backdrop.

"So, I hear tell Absalom has shown you the miracles of origami." A shark like grin showing of my pointed teeth was directed their way. I specifically directed a malefic glare towards Saga.

Silent, both young men looked to the ground in deference.

"Heh, if you remove my restrictions Boss, I can tell you something I heard about origami." The long forgotten El Drago climbed from the floor. A smile of pure schadenfreude began to emerge on El Drago's face.

"Quiet worm! As if anything you have to say is of any value! Your brain is gold addled!" Saga punched El Drago in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Heh." El Drago wheezed, spitting blood up into Saga's eye. His smile retained its potency the entire time.

Face twitching, Saga placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Saga!" Kenji shouted Saga's name in reprimand.

"Captain…" Golass reached an arm out to help El Drago up.

"Hmph!" El Drago turned his back towards Golass. Struggling to stand, El Drago found himself in a kneeling position, and looked to me for a response.

"Enough. I have no interest in your petty squabbles. I came down here for another matter, if any of you were more observant, you may have noticed."

Each of them gasped when they truly took a look at me. My entire shirt was doused crimson in dried out, crusty blood. The flesh on my shoulder, both front and back was bare for all to see.

"So he can bleed!" Saga sent a snap second of killer intent my way after muttering to himself.

Golass gulped, and pulled at his collar.

El Drago had a scandalized look on his face. It was as if I had stolen his gold, and plucked out his eyes, removing all joy from the world.

"Who are they?" Kenji asked, pointing towards my two captives.

Ignoring the lack of formality from Kenji, I directly answered him.

"The blue fishman is a violent pirate I captured earlier today during my duty as a Shichibukai. I estimate his strength is enough to fight the two of you at the same time."

"And the lady, oh hoh, she'd be enough to slaughter a hundred Kenji's, and a hundred Saga's. Why, she shouldn't be all to unfamiliar to our resident swordsman. Isn't that right, eh Saga?"

Caught by surprise, Saga looked towards the unconscious woman in shock. He took a step closer to get a better look, turning her over, he gazed into her face.

"You captured Andressa?" Shocked worry, tinged with envy entered Saga's voice.

Sharply inhaling, Saga took a reflexive step backwards. His back shivered uncontrollably with each step he took. I couldn't tell if it was from the cold in the room or some other emotion.

"So I was right, she is a member of the Wu Tang clan! I thought I heard her mutter something about that samurai bastard before I captured her." I rubbed my hands together in glee.

"You there, zombie with the clipboard. Grab me a sturdy table, a mop, a dozen buckets of water and some chains."

"Oh, and throw this stinky thing in a prison cell." I kicked the crippled fishman towards the zombie.

"Yes Moria-sama." Bowing, the zombie left to carry out its orders.

"Stick around boys, you're in for a treat. I'm about to teach another lesson. As my subordinates, you've come to learn how fair and unbiased I am to my allies. Observe how I treat my enemies. What you're about to witness is a trifle compared to the fate of traitors." At the end of my spiel, I directed a meaningful grin Saga's way.

* * *

"ENOUGH! ENOUGH! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING FOR YOU! _ANYTHING!_" The dark skinned, green haired beauty pleaded with me. Her voice reached a volume in loudness, that if I were an ordinary person, I'd probably rupture my eardrums.

Hours upon hours of relentless torture had finally cracked the nut. It wouldn't surprise me if the sun had risen up, and dawn had come and passed judging on the amount of time we've spent down here. I stretched my arms, and cracked my neck, tired from the experience. My current body constitution meant I could go days without sleep, and still operate at an optimal condition. However, almost dying by poison, and nearly falling into the ocean were not conductive to my sanity. Whatever sanity I had left at this point that is.

I can't say I wasn't tempted by her offer. I mean, a man in my position of power, no one around to judge me. It would be incredibly _easy _to take advantage of the previously sexy, now crippled lady. Not that that would be a big deal in terms of beauty, during my torture, I confirmed limb reattachment on living people worked via shadow stitching.

Regardless, I was uninterested in romance, and I've learned my lesson from the deities of old. Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Chinese, etc, this lesson is true across all cultures. Stick your dick in a powerful enemy, or father a son, and vengeance twice as bad as you dished out is twenty years away. The temptations of possessing a beautiful concubine who I could fuck at any time for any reason were seriously tempting. As someone who hadn't found relief since coming to this world, it was the strongest temptation I'd felt besides the allure of power and the need for survival. However, I steeled myself. Control in all things would see me to long lasting victory. Perhaps she could serve me in other ways.

"You know. This could've ended _much _sooner if you told the truth from the beginning. The fact that I continued well after you told me what I wanted to know rests solely on your head. I'm a magnanimous man after all, so I'll stop. For now. Work with me, and perhaps the Thriller Bark Pirates will have a place for an exiled Amazonian like yourself." A benevolent smile played out across my face. Shadow reading was a hell of an ability. Telling truth from lie was one of the easiest uses of the skill. I was no mind reader, but being able to understand someone at a deeper level because of their shadow put me on the same playing field as an empath.

Sighing, my gaze landed on the copious blood stains miring the floor in a sticky display of the macabre. Zombie's continuously washed and scrubbed the floor, diluting the dark red into a frothing pink foam. Thoughts of the torture arose unbidden from my mind.

Torture. Torture wasn't something I was happy to perform. It's one thing to say 'hey you guys, get the information from the suspect by any means necessary' and to be the one who carries it out with your own two hands. I thought about having Hogback do all the work, but I would still need to be present to inject the shadows for healing.

As to why I disliked performing the procedure? For one, I _strongly _disliked the smell and feel of blood covering me. Secondly, screaming, yelling, or really any loud noise like cheering was always a small pet peeve annoyance to me. I liked being a goof and making noise too, but some people can really get into it. Thirdly, I didn't care much for causing physical pain. It never got me off like it does for people, like Eustass Kid. Killing, manipulating emotions, or spilling blood. I can do all of these things if it serves a purpose. Unfortunately for Andressa, I had a grudge to settle, and a lesson to teach.

"Take her away minion." I waved towards the zombies at the side. At this point, a team of zombies nearby had gathered to clean the mess I made, and record what information I could pry from Andressa's lips.

And what tantalizing information those seductive lips spilled! Locations of hidden weapons caches, the base in Wano, a few hideouts, and one conclusive piece of paper pointing towards another member. The time for cowering in the shadows was soon to be over. I had several leads on the Wu Tang, and after some more training and planning, I was going to pay them a beating.

If I was going to do this right, I had to be smart about this. I lucked out in that Andressa was weaker than Kōshirō. If I was even more lucky, Kōshirō would be the strongest member of the Wu Tang clan. However, I couldn't afford to deal in luck. I had research to do on my opponents, and if two of them were as strong as Andressa and teamed up on me, then I would be in a bind. I think I could flee from most anyone on the planet given a few exceptions with the potential of my speed and teleportation abilities. That said, if a fight breaks out on Thriller Bark, all that I've built up, and the legacy left to me would be ruined. A loss of control over my fate, over my possessions…that would be…**UNACCEPTABLE. **

"Uhh Moria-sama, can, can we go now?" Standing to the far side of the room, and back pushed up to the wall, a pale faced Kenji haltingly asked if he could leave.

"Bastard. Who told you to be brave?" Saga's words were caustic, but his tone of voice conveyed respect.

"Eep!" El Drago quickly covered his mouth.

Golass stood by, silent as the grave. An expression of great worry spread across his face.

"Ki shi shi shi. Now you comprehend the fate of my enemies. I hope this lesson was ingrained deep within your souls. Go now, you are dismissed." With a casual wave, I sent them on their way. My mind was still occupied by the knowledge I had learned. I stared emptily in a daze at the zombies cleaning while I processed the key details I just learned.

"Ahem, Moria-sama." A gnat buzzed in my ear.

"Moria-sama?" A child called my name.

"Master!" The sound reaching out to me was like a foghorn piercing deep into my skull.

Broken from my daze, I saw Red, standing below me.

"What is it Red, couldn't you see I was thinking?" I lightly flicked my finger, and sent the munchkin flying against the wall.

"Apologies master! I wouldn't have interrupted your.._thinking_, but Absalom-sama commanded me to find you. Something urgent has arisen, he's at the throne room, awaiting your command sir." Red bowed, then moved to stand behind me.

Sending Doppleman flitting through the cracks, he arrived in my bedroom/office/throne room in less than a minute. Seconds later, I popped into existence, surprising the daylights out of Absalom.

"Kame-sama in heaven!" Absalom stumbled back.

"Is that you Onion? I have a bone to pick with you! Where are our promised shipments!" A den den mushi yelled in anger at me. The snail wore a boot on its head, and had a wide handlebar mustache.

Onion? My eyebrow twitched in anger.

Seeing my anger, Absalom leaned in close and whispered to me: "It's one of the Underworld Emperor's, The Concealer, his pseudonym is Vermin Supreme. He's wondering why our shipment of goods hasn't reached him. Since we left the Florian Triangle, we haven't lived up to our agreement. Don't worry, the visual feedback is turned off." Absalom gave me a smile and a thumbs up.

Visual feedback? Agreement!? Did the original Moria have some sort of operation going on with this guy, acting as a broker to sell and buy from? It makes sense in a way. The Florian Triangle_ is_ a pretty good place to rob people. Trade all of those excess goods, hell if Moria was smart, he could've sold the people into slavery, and sold the boats to instead of sending them on their way once he stole their shadows…

"Onion! I am talking to you! If I don't receive the goods, I can't pay Undertaker, and you don't get your precious bodies. Don't think I'm unaware of that bounty. It's because of your connections to _us _that every bounty hunter and Underworld assassin hasn't dared lay a single finger on you!" The voice sounded like that of an old man, spittle flew out of the mouth of the den den mushi. This guy was furious given the facial expression of the snail.

Is this the truth, are these guys actually keeping bounty hunters and assassins off my back?

"Vermin…Supreme." I hesitated to say the Underworld boss's pseudonym, it couldn't get any more ridiculous.

"I am no longer based in the Florian Triangle, however, that doesn't mean we still can't do business." Ideas were already starting to pop into my head. How I was going to sell the merchandise I produced at my factory, as well as how to acquire new bodies were things that had been problems, I had no clue how to solve. The answer should've been obvious from the beginning, a guy like Moria, of course he has connections in the Underworld!

"Dang nabbit, why didn't you say so from the beginning! Having me wait all this time on some nobody! Onion, that is no way to conduct business! Why back when I was a lad if two and three-"

Oh God it was going to be one of those days. I engulfed myself into the beanbag chair, and prepared myself to listen to an old man wax lyrical about how hard things were in his day. Think of the positives, just got to think of that sweet loot that will come from this deal.

**(Line Break)**

"And my nieces husband works in the meat industry, he learned a thing or two about flamingo worms, I tell you!"

"Ah, what a riveting tale. I could see how that relates to body acquisition. I don't mean to interrupt, but do we have a deal?"

"Pah, no respect for your elders! Why I got whipped simply for-"

Finally my patience had slipped, and I snapped at the old man. "Listen here, and listen good, this money of mine isn't going into those pockets of yours unless the next four words out of your mouth are 'We have a deal."

"We have a deal. Nice doing business with you Onion, who knew you were such a softie, letting me prattle on like that, ha!"

*click*

Piece of human filth! After all that, AND HE HUNG UP ON ME! I stood up from my bean bag chair seething, and ready to take action. Then thinking about it, where would I go, and what would I lose if I went for it?

Sighing again, I collapsed into my beanbag chair. The late afternoon sunlight shined its way into my room.

"Red, tell Absalom to prepare the abandoned coal mines into functional prisons post haste. Have him prepare a vivre card for a local official, and lend a hundred zombies to garrison this island." Between the threat of assassination, and my plans for the future it was time to get out of this place. Sitting still and waiting like a sitting duck with a target on the back of my head wasn't my style.

"Right away Moria-sama." Red turned to leave.

"And before you go, tell him he only has a week! We're picking up an old friend at the Long-Arm tribe and moving on to brighter shores!" I smiled to myself. All my scheming in East Blue was coming to a head. There were some stumbling blocks, what with Shanks, and that unexpected encounter vs Zoro's swordmaster. However, other than those slight hiccups, things were looking good. I've obtained income to fund future projects, paid off the government, acquired valuable shadows, a few useful idiots have joined my crew, and most importantly, I now have a seat at the Reverie. I'm one step closer to securing myself as one of the movers and shakers of the world.

I sat back and let loose a long exhaled in pleasure. It had been a long three days. Now I could finally get some peace and-

"Otou-san, I'm here for the party!~" A cheerful Perona, followed by a gang of stuffed animal zombies trooped her way into my room.

It dawned upon me that this was happening. Not only that, my clothes were still torn, and the dried blood and grime from two jam packed filled days of conflict were encrusted all over my body. Oh God it's one of those days.

**AN: **

**Perona has the Hollow-Hollow fruit, figured I'd explore what kind of crazy hijinks that thing can do. What's a double negative? **

**About Perona, I'm somewhat interested in exploring a father-daughter dynamic. Although the trope of "Evil dad with a daughter of gold" is a trope I especially detest. Seriously, it's like every villain in the history of forever has a daughter and that's his weakness. So, we'll see. **

**Google images: Vermin Supreme. The Underworld Emperor is Giberson, any reader could've found that out from a google search of his epitaph. I gave him the pseudonym cuz I thought the guy looked somewhat like a discount version of Vermin Supreme. Henceforth it is now canon that Giberson wears a boot on his head. **


	34. Chapter 34

I took a deep breath, savoring the smell of vegetation surrounding me. Free from the dank rot stench that infested Thriller Bark, I was in a good mood. A day had passed since my return to Thriller Bark, and my plans for Goa Kingdom were coming to a head. Blindfolding my eyes to further refine the observation haki I obtained from the blue fishman, and cut my bodies reliance from eye based vision. From my position, I 'saw' a cracked, weed filled cobblestone road that snaked its way out to the port town of Gray Terminal. Standing before me, in the tall, grass swept hills of Goa Kingdom's hinterlands, I observed the surface of a recently renovated abandoned coal mine.

The images I received were transmitted in a sort of greyscale. All of my surroundings up to 500 meters away appeared in my mind. Initially, my sight was limited to 200 meters, the same limit that the blue fishman had. After integrating my understanding about shadow reading, and my connection with all things shadow related, my use of this particular haki based ability had radically expanded.

When observing objects with this technique, nothing escaped me. Everything down to the smallest blade of grass to the trail of ants was within my sight. What I most liked about this skill were two things. For one, I could now see behind me when I was under attack. And secondly, I now had a near perfect vision when in the dark. I had yet to obtain any great predictive abilities, Gedatsu's mediocre haki was a start, but nowhere near enough. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with the observation haki I had at the moment.

Moving my attention to the recently renovated mine shaft, I focused on the new additions. Previously, it had been little more than a wooden structure leading to a rope and pulley elevator. The efforts of nonstop zombie labor saw to a small stone and dirt fort surrounding the entrance. A strong central tower covered the mine entrance, and two walls, an inner and an outer separated by dirt ditches completed the defense. Three canons, and two hundred zombies maintained defense.

I made sure to staff the place with the least valuable bodies, those cobbled together from civilians, and East Blue pirates stitched into patchwork abominations suited to Dr. Hogback's unique flair of style. Likewise, the weakest of shadows empowered them. The prison was an important stronghold of mine, guarding those who's shadow I had stolen. Three of my general zombies, including the sniper Green Piece lead the prison. This low tier guard unit would have to suffice for now. It wasn't anything special, but I judged it was strong enough to deter the strongest riff raff of East Blue like Don Krieg.

Once upon a time, I planned on keeping prisoners in the depth of Thriller Bark. However, the more I thought about it, the more I got a sour taste in my mouth. If or when someone powerful comes to rescue their friends, it would be at my doorstep. By sending my prisoners away from my homestead, the base here in East Blue would be attacked first. Forewarned, from the breakout, I'd at least have some time to prepare for an attack or ambush. This way, I could receive a call over the den den mushi, and potentially arrive within hours via flight following a vivre card to one of my prisoners. That or if the threat was to great, I could maintain my distance. If retaliation from enemy forces is possible, or even, inevitable, I might as well lose the dregs of my forces, then risk losing any elites.

I would've liked to have installed more deterrence's guarding the place. However, between the threat of constant assassination, and Shanks's warning, I couldn't afford to maintain one position for very long lest I become an easy target. Rationalizing to myself that I'd made the right decision, I nodded, and turned to my lion mouthed friend for his input on the matter.

"Status report Absalom, have the mines been properly outfitted for long term prisoner confinement?" Blindfold still on and observation haki activated, I faced away from him. Despite facing away from him, his every facial tic was plain as day before my vision.

"Yes Captain! Ever since we discovered this series of tunnels, I've been having them renovated. Proper ventilation shafts were put in place, and solid beams of tempered wood have been placed at critical junctions. Quarters have been setup, the surrounding grassland is being culled as we speak to form bedding for the prisoners, and clear vision of the paths leading to the mine." Absalom stood with his back straight, exuding confidence during the report. A small, smile graced his lion lips.

"And what of the boy?"

"Grr, the brat? He's finished germinating the barrels. The first batch of mushrooms grew overnight, he's down there now with Kuro optimizing the method. Kid was hesitant to go down there at first, but he changed his tune real quick when my good brother whispered in his ear. Haha, Kuro's so smart. Without him, this project couldn't have been done so quickly. I can feel the dream coming back Captain, having nakama you can lean on is just like old times!" Absalom's scowl when talking about Kenji morphed into one of fondness.

"So you're saying you like all your nakama. Even Kenji, huh?" I grinned teasingly at Absalom. His thirst for nostalgia, for a crew he could call his own, made me pity him.

"Psh, that brat? No no no no no, absolutely not!" Hot under the collar, Absalom waved his hands back and forth in denial.

"Okay, okay, I see I've struck a sore spot, back to the matter at hand. I've noticed that even for dregs, our forces guarding the mine are rather pitiful. They may have a couple canons, but there doesn't seem to be more than a rifle per dozen. Taking a closer look, they're armed with rusty short swords, and wooden clubs? Explain yourself."

"See! I'm not crazy!" Absalom said aloud to himself.

"Uhhh." I stared blankly at his declaration.

"I wanted to arm every single one of them with rifles, but Kuro talked me out of it. See, he had been going over the inventory at Thriller Bark, and he said it's not good. That in his words, 'we're at serious risk of diluting our powerbase, such that our enemies would find our supply chain pitifully lacking." Absalom mimicked a snooty, stereotypical upper-class accent, one filled with arrogance and disdain when quoting Kuro.

"I got into a big argument with him, saying that you needed this mine guarded, that your dignity couldn't be tarnished as a Shichibukai. In the end, he had a good point. That since Thriller Bark no longer routinely raids pirates in the Florian Triangle, supplies such as weapons have become increasingly difficult to come across. Most pirate crews can't afford to arm everyman with a rifle, and the common swords predominantly forged in the Blue's, especially East Blue, are low-grade iron."

"What does that have to do with anything, couldn't we have taken the guns from the Goa Kingdom, and armed our own forces? Or find buyers, perhaps buy directly from the World Government, or some merchant fleet?" I asked in a demanding tone of voice. Was I being scammed by Kuro so soon? To think all my lessons hadn't sunk in yet…

"That's just it! When I explored the Kingdom's armory, there were less than a hundred rifles! Those clubs you see our zombies armed with? Those were confiscated from the armory! The swords and random assortment of weapons, along with the few guns in hand mostly came from the local bandits. When it comes to buying them…forget it, you can't buy military grade guns, ammunition, and gunpowder in bulk anywhere in the East Blue!"

"I tried going through the government channels, but the options available were to send in more tithe money for an increased Marine presence, or wait upwards of ten to twenty years, while the World Government processes our claim. More than a decade to see if we're trustworthy enough to purchase from them directly. Even when I dropped your name, all I got was a reduction in time, now we'd only have to wait five years! What a joke!" Absalom was bitter with rage. It appeared he genuinely tried to resolve this problem. While I was off training, and bleeding my guts out, this guy has been lobbying all over the place, championing my cause.

"And the Underworld?" I asked, based on the zombie's current armament, I already knew It was a forgone affair, but I had to hear it for myself.

"A complete rip off. Last month, when I discovered this issue, they were the first I approached. They may not be the most trustworthy bastards, but they're better than the alternative. Anyway, I asked them for a price, and get this, it was 100,000 beri for a rifle. One single rifle. Not including ammunition, or gunpowder. For reference, our tithe to the World Government cost 30,000,000 with 30,000,000 you could buy a measly 300 rifles at that price. Kuro told me that we were under a significant price hike. He said that when he captained his crew, he could purchase a rifle, ammo, and gunpowder included, for a price of 50,000 a piece from the Underworld markets."

"I see. You made the right decision holding off on any purchases." Relaxing from the tension that had been mounting in my body, I eased back my shoulders, and allowed a casual slump in my posture.

"Given the circumstances, I can't find fault with your stance on the matter. After all, I ordered you before to spend lightly. The manufacturing cost to build the silk clothing and accessory's factory was costly. A man in your position can only do so much. This situation may have rapidly spun out of your control, but don't let this moment of chaos spoil your victory. All things said and done, this mine turned prison has become fully operational. Well done."

"No problem Captain. I'm only doing what anyone in the crew would do. Sailing with everyone is like a dream come true." Absalom beamed.

"Oddly enough however, in the last couple of days, we received a call back over the den den mushi, and our price was reduced to the standard 50,000." Absalom scratched his face, lost in confusion.

My eyelid twitched, yet another consequence of Moria's unknown past rearing its head to bite me. Had I known about the kind of trade deals Moria had as a Broker working out of the Florian Triangle, I may not have ever left. However, what's done is done, I can only move forward from here on out.

"Okay, I understand the situation. However, one thing escapes me. Even with a reduced price, how is it that the rifle costs so much? Was it that each rifle was produced manually, shipping cost, or was the Underworld setting up a heavy surcharge?" Curiosity burned in my gaze. My knowledge of economics wasn't the best, but I was truly curious as to why the cost of certain goods were so expensive. I knew Absalom wasn't the brightest, but he was by no means stupid. At the very least, as someone who had sailed the world, and was a leader, he shouldn't be completely ignorant on the topic. Knowing Moria's past character of being lazy to the max, if anyone assumed the responsibilities of Broker, it would be Absalom. He has to know something.

Absalom looked at me, embarrassment marred his face. The whiskers along his lions snout went flat, and his jaw worked slowly in surprise.

"Well Captain, you know-." Absalom paused and gulped.

Absalom looked at me from the corner of his eye. "Ahem. Ahem. Ah, I just had to get something out of my mouth. Ah, what was I saying?"

"You were about to explain to me why the rifle was so expensive." I replied in a deadpan tone of voice.

"Right, that. Well you see, you're not wrong, all of what you said contributes to why a rifle is as expensive as it is. However, the one major reason is that things are more abundant on the Grand Line!" When he finished speaking, Absalom closed his eyes, bracing himself as if he was about to be struck.

What the?

"Please clarify."

"…"

"If it helps, pretend you were explaining this to Perona."

"Oh, then that's easy!" Absalom plopped his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"One way to understand why the rifle, and really, most things in general are so expensive is because of the time, and effort it takes to transport them. However, the biggest reason is resource scarcity. As an example, the majority of coal on this island has been extracted to completion. In fact, it's a miracle coal deposits of any size were found here. Most islands across the Blue's have nothing more than dirt, stone, and trees. Iron, or any other metal for that matter are extremely scarce. Even farming is impossible for some islands, leaving locals to depend on domesticated animals, or more likely fishing due to land constraints. This is where the Grand Line comes into play. The islands, weather, and environment form an ecosystem that the world depends upon. On the Grand Line, there are islands made out of coal, candy, beef, gold, sand, seastone, wheat, the list goes on!" Absalom began to take on a wistful look as he stared into the distance.

"In fact, this is why there are pirates and adventurers in the first place! People across the Blue's are starved for the finer things in life, and any comfort comes at a cost so high, only nobles could afford it! Add onto the fact that the Grand Line is the spawn point of all these resources, why it's no wonder that it's a breeding ground for our kind!

Navigating by log pose is a nightmare for most people as it's one of the requirements for finding your way unless you're willing to search a region by map for the constantly shifting islands. Not to mention, the most well known entrance and exit to the Grand Line is fraught with danger. Unless you're willing to pay a hefty fee to the World Government to cross the Red Line, travel between the Blue's is virtually impossible for the weak. Factoring these things in, trade is fraught with danger, leading to the price of goods being hiked, in some cases, they're more than 3,000% more expensive than if you bought them in the New World. You should already know these things Perona, Captain taught you better than that! You're not a child anymore."

"Ahh hah ha ha, sorry sorry, I got lost in the moment. Happy to be of help Captain, this was a good information session, I'll be down in the mines inspecting the mushroom farm." Satisfied with his handling of the response, Absalom scurried away into the mine shaft. Not even bothering to take the elevator, he dropped straight down.

Behind the blindfold, my eyes widened in surprise. If what Absalom said was true, then the Grand Line is even more important than I thought it was. Given how mysterious and fantastical it is, I wonder if the One Piece that Gol D. Roger spoke about before his execution really existed. If so, what changes would face the world from a thing that everyone was chasing after? The wistful part of my youthful spirit for adventure was stoked by the thought. For the first time in a long time, I was excited to know exactly what wonders the Grand Line had in store. If I really wanted to discover more, I would need someone who knew more about this world.

I had planned to leave for paradise, follow a vivre card, and raid a musician to break up my dull life of training and lack of internet. Something I could do after leaving the East Blue. Before, I had no designs upon discovering One Piece, or fighting over the throne of the Pirate King. All I could hope for was survival. I still thought that the idea of a Pirate King, at least one like Roger was laughable. But! As someone who grew up with One Piece, someone who's followed the series since the mid 2000's, how could I not be curious what One Piece was? It was time I stole myself a historian.

"Horo horo horo. Acting tough huh? I'd feel pity for you, but none of you are cute! Hmph!"

"My life is worthless."

"Hyee!"

The sound of laughter along with the creak of wheels reached me first. Before long, images came into focus. Following a troop of prison carts, Perona terrified the prisoners with her negative hollows. A small smirk graced my lips, after I removed this groups shadows, and deposited them in the mine, my work on this island was over.

* * *

"It took a week, but the prison is finally settled. Absalom, set sail for the Tequila Wolf Bridge. It's located in East Blue." Sitting in my beanbag chair, shadowy blindfold still on, I dictated my orders.

"East Blue? I thought you wanted to go to the Long-Arm tribe? Aren't they based in Paradise? Or do you mean the faction that lives on Totto Land?" Confused, Absalom had question marks in his eyes. However, after asking me, he nodded, and turned to Red.

"I'll see to it Captain. Red, follow me to the war room, and be prepared to relay my commands, I'll plot the course. Oh, and Blue, grab Kuro, I want someone there to double check my calculations."

"Yes Absalom-sama." Red bowed.

"You got it handsome-sama, I'll tell only Kuro. If any lady were to know your whereabouts, a stud like you would steal her heart on the spot." Blue clasped his hands, and smiled in benediction Absalom's way.

"R-really?" Pink creeped up Absalom's neck.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat.

"Ah yes, right away sir! Blue, I don't want anyone to hear about my top secret location. Got it?" Absalom winked towards Blue before strutting off.

"Crystal clear _sir_! Your ruby eyes would set any pure maiden ablaze with lust. Your-"

"Moria-sama has a job for us, you can slack on your own time. Come on let's go." Scowling, Red dragged Blue out of the room.

"I have a war room?" I said aloud to an empty room.

Left to my own devices, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I was going to train my haki, and better understand my castle at the same time. From my current understanding of observation haki, it has two primary methods. One passive, and one active. While actively focusing on the style of haki from the blue fishman, I had a range of over 500 meters in sight. At the same time, my mental energy was consumed the longer I went. If I went beyond the point of exhaustion, I could pass out, or suffer a massive headache. I theorized if I went to long to many times, I could risk putting myself into a coma.

The second type, passively using haki was something like an aura that always surrounded me. As an example, I could get a clear picture of my surroundings up to 10 meters at any time. In a way, it was a subconscious use of the power. I imagine the same thing has happened across the series. Like Garp injuring Luffy when using a fist of love, or someone with conqueror's haki. Speaking from experience when interacting with Shanks, he had an aura of domination about him. And that was what I had gathered on my own, I was certain there was more to haki than my brief foray into the field.

Summoning Doppleman, I focused on him. Without using haki, and solely relying on my devil fruit's abilities, I could get a sense of where Doppleman was at all times. His every movement, and any shadow near his position spoke to me. I would always know where Doppleman was, and a general sense of what was around him. Ordering him to move was no different from moving an arm, at times, it was as unconscious as blinking. However, I couldn't see or hear what was near Doppleman, at least not unless I swapped an eye or an ear. What I was about to do would test a theory of mine.

"Go to the other room Doppleman." Willing my shadow out of the room, I replaced an arm. On my right arm, it was nothing but shadow, outside, Doppleman's arm was now flesh and blood. Focusing, I activated my observation haki.

"Ha ha ha ha! It works! _It works!_" Gleeful laughter burst out of my room. My laughter was so loud, the glass windows shook, and small puffs of dust drifted down from the ceiling.

I dissipated my blindfold, and I was seeing double. It took me a moment for my brain to adjust from the vertigo, but a moment was all it took. With my eyes, I could clearly see the room around me. That's what eyes do. What had me so gleeful was that my experiment was a success. In the other room, everything was visible to me, I could even 'see' through walls! My arm was actively using observation haki. From now on, I never had to send my eyes over to witness what happens in Doppleman's presence. From this alone, my fighting power had at least doubled.

"If an arm works, let's try something smaller." I willed my arm back into place, and replaced my pinky toe.

I said smaller, but for me, a pinky toe would be similar in size to a grown man's hand. It must be said, my feet were one of the longest things on my body.

"Success! Although, hmm." I began to mutter to myself, lost in thought.

Replacing my toes, and using it to look around Doppleman _did _work. However, it felt like the space was smaller? If before, I could have a circular view of about 500 meters, now I could see 300 meters. This wasn't bad by any means, however, it wasn't something praise worthy. Curious, I ran another test. Shaving off even more of my pinky toe, leaving just a sliver of skin, I took a look around. Less than 10 centimeters of skin wrapped around Doppleman's foot, and I could barely make out the room.

I narrowed my eyes in discontent. My control over haki wasn't good enough…Although, this could be another training opportunity. I could focus on my range, and control. Attempting to increase the range for every centimeter I shave off. With that train of mind, I should better understand the underlying principals behind haki, and may easier perfect any future method I steal. Better yet, this may lead to me unlocking my own unique kind of haki to call my own.

"I can work with this. Doppleman, get to exploring!"

Saluting my way, Doppleman set out. During his exploration, I started off as small as I could. My vision of Doppleman's surroundings was less than 20 meters. Time to get a better understanding of my castle.

After exploring for some time, I found the armory. Besides the Freezer Block, this was the largest room I had come across. At the base of the tower, this room could compete with the best mega Amazon warehouses in size. Inside, thousands of swords, axes, and other weapons stood, neatly stacked. The style varied greatly from weapon to weapon, it was like a collection of all the cold weapons since the dawn of human history stacked in one place. Tens of thousands of crushing and bladed weapons glittered in the hall. The gladius, katanas, sabers, spears, odachi, long swords, dirks, daggers, blades, great axes, rapiers, mauls, maces, and some weapons I recognized to be Korean or Chinese in origin lined the halls. Further in, hundreds of sets of well polished plated armor, mail, and all sorts of metal gloves, greaves and helms were stowed in great chests. Likewise, thousands of rifles, and canons were carefully placed on racks, or in the case of the canons, lined up and ready for use. Impressed by the collection, I could only assume that this was Moria's lifetime achievement of looting and plunder. It seemed like a lot, but after my chat with Absalom, I recognized that if I wanted to raise an army of any significant number, these few thousand rifles wouldn't be enough.

Rising higher, I passed by balconies, bathrooms, and ballrooms. Laboratories, and rooms obviously used for experimentation. Workshops like you'd find in any town passed me by. Such as rooms designated for tailors, dentists, and woodworkers. Along the way, copious amounts of zombies stood guard along the walls. Hundreds of soldiers stood motionless in ancient well maintained armor. I noticed many pieces of armor were empty, meant to confuse any invading forces into thinking that the enemy could be hiding anywhere. From this demonstration, a new respect began to develop for the wall zombies. A pity I got rid of most of them, and replaced them with ground forces, and abominable combinations of flesh. If they were stronger, an ambush from the wall zombies could turn an invasion or fight around. Sadly, they were subpar forces, defeated by weaklings like the Straw Hats pre-timeskip.

By the time Doppleman reached the middle region of the tower, I saw Perona's Wonder Garden. Vegetables, fruits, and all sorts of crops grew out of the ground. Considering the state of the world, it really was a wonder garden. This must be where my apples, peaches, and pears came from. As I was about to move on, I spotted three people at a table enjoying tea. Commanding Doppleman to go flat to the ground, I inched closer.

"Hoh, what's all this then?" My curiosity got the better of me, and I swapped out an ear to hear what was being said.

* * *

"And so, even after sustaining a strike to the chest from the world's best swordsman, Hawkeye Mihawk, Zoro defeated Hashiman of the six swords. Together, he and Luffy rescued my village from the Arlong Pirates." Nojiko smiled, recounting her meeting with the Straw Hats.

She sat one leg crossed over the other and sipped tea. Her hourglass figure was especially pronounced at the waist. When taking a look at her, one couldn't help but be drawn to her 34D+ breast size.

"So brave, I should've tried harder and convinced him to marry me." Lola's eyes fluttered, and she stared off lost in fantasy.

"Ehhh, that blockhead did something like that? When he was here, he ran around lost. I clearly told him where his swords were, but he couldn't find them. He's so pitiful, I guess he's sorta cute." Perona pouted and twirled her finger in the tea aimlessly.

Her flat chest wasn't anything to impressive, but her efforts to impress had certainly changed her wardrobe. Perona was currently wearing black clothes in a style reminiscent of a goth girl.

"I thought you liked that Kenji kid." Kumashi, holding a platter of sweets piped up from the side.

"_Kuuumashiii_" Perona gnashed her teeth, and directed a withering glare Kumashi's way.

"Eeep!" Kumashi covered his mouth.

"Kenji huh? Is he that moody silver haired guy with the sword?" Nojiko chimed in, delaying any sort of punishment headed Kumashi's way.

"No the silver haired guy with eyes so cold they send your heart aflutter is Saga. Apparently he grew up with Zoro, and is his rival."

Lola shifted her eyes side to side, before leaning in close, and finishing what she had to say. "I overheard some gossiping zombies, and they said that _you know who _killed his master just a few weeks ago!"

Nojiko gasped, and clutched a hand to her heart. "Poor Zoro."

"Hmph! Some friends you are. You two are just a couple of hostages, who said you can have fun without me?" Perona crossed her arms, and looked to the side downcast. Her lip began to quiver, and a tear drop began to form in her eye.

"Don't worry Perona-sama, I'll always be here for you." Kumashi comforted Perona, stroking her hair. For once, Perona didn't rebuke the oversized stuffed bear zombie. Instead, she leaned back into his soft, plushy embrace.

As if just realizing who they had ignored, Lola and Nojiko looked at each other, and chuckled nervously.

"Hello beauty's!" At the most stale moment between the trio, Blue made an appearance shattering the awkward atmosphere.

Strutting into the garden, Blue began to rain praises down onto the three.

"Lola-san, looking lovely. A man will surely enter your eye."

"Perona-sama, perfectly petrifying. Those who seek you are sure to turn to sorrow, for your standards are high!"

"Nojiko-san, nothing negative. You've got the stuff!" Blue nodded his head, and raised his thumb up in appreciation.

"What do you want Blue? I'm still on vacation, don't think you can get me to train anytime soon." Furious, a couple of negative hollows formed around Blue, and began to circle him.

"L-Let's not get hasty here! I was told to come here! Yes I was! It was all Erosalam's idea! He wanted to get closer to Nojiko-san and do unspeakable things in the war room! He said he wanted her to teach him navigation!" Sweating buckets, Blue threw Absalom under the bus. He stood absolutely still, lest the negative hollows had a pass through him.

"Haah that hopeless pervert is really embarrassing me." Perona sank into her chair, and face palmed.

"My, so forward of him! Are you going to accept his request?" An interested Lola looked enquiringly towards Nojiko.

"It's fine. I'm used to this kind of treatment. The old men in my village were all the same. I might as well face him and get this over with." Nojiko stood from her chair.

"Woah, so brave…hold on, you can't go. That little gremlin said that Erosalam was going to do _unspeakable _things to you!" Lola bit her lip in concern.

"Don't worry, he's a big softie at heart. I spoke to him a little bit on the boat ride here. He's an idiot in heat, but he still has some basic morals. I think. Anyway, his captain explicitly ordered him not to do anything to me, I think I'll be fine."

"After you." Nojiko gestured for Blue to lead the way.

"No way, you're actually going?" Blue stood still, mouth agape.

Nojiko stared at Blue for ten seconds before leaving toward the exit of the garden.

"W-wait up, the war room is this way!" Blue ran after her, and took the lead.

"I can't miss this spicy content!" Lola jumped up from her seat, and bolted towards the exit.

"Guys, what about my tea party?" Perona asked the rapidly disappearing figures. Tears began to drip down her face, several droplets fell into the now cold tea.

A hand reached over, and wiped the tears away. "Hey there, don't cry. I can't stand to see you sad. I know. This will cheer you up."

* * *

"And finished!" Absalom plotted the route by referencing a map sitting on a large circular table.

"Between our skills, it was child's play." Kuro responded with a satisfied grin.

"Nothing like navigating the Grand Line, that's for sure. Either get your hands on several eternal log poses to triangulate your position, rely on maps searching a zone potentially for weeks, or do it the old fashion way and hop from island to island. It's been so long since I've been to the Blue's, I forgot how easy you had it here." Absalom rolled up the map of East Blue he had plotted the course on, and stored it in a water resistant casing.

Kuro frowned, unable to refute Absalom.

"Say, now that we've got some time to kill, did I ever tell you about the time at the bath house? Eh, Kuro?"

"…" Kuro looked askance at Absalom. Within a second of asking the question, Absalom began hisstory.

"So, there I was, in the bath house. This beautiful lady with vibrant orange hair, an hourglass figure, and soft, mouth watering pillows any man would sell his right arm to snuggle in was putting on a show just for me. I was about to have may way with her then and there, but I was interrupted. I would've gotten away with it to, if it wasn't for those meddling kids and their stupid reindeer." Absalom narrated his latest escapade.

"Riveting." Kuro stood to the side, his face a blank mask of boredom.

"I know right?! Stick with me, and you'll see the light at the end of the tunnel." Absalom pointed at himself with his thumb, and sent Kuro a wolfish grin.

"Announcing to the room, the fair maiden, and gracious guest of Moria-sama, Nojiko of Cocoyasi Village!" Blue strolled into the war room, followed by Nojiko and Charlotte Lola.

"Watch me as I move." Absalom leaned over and whispered to Kuro.

Adopting a flattering smile, Kuro stood to the side by a map filled wall.

"I heard you wanted to see me. I have something to say to you." Nojiko strode forward, confidence in each step.

"Marry me." Absalom got down on one knee, took Nojiko's hand. A ring found its way onto her hand within seconds.

*slap*

Nojiko slapped Absalom, and kicked him in the balls.

"Aiyee!" Absalom released his grip, and rolled around on the floor. Tears began to gather in his eyes.

"How's about no? In no uncertain words will I marry a disgusting freak like you. I have no interest in you, and I never will. Your captain made it very clear. I'm a valuable hostage, and not to be touched. Let's go Lola, it's time we took our leave." Nojiko turned her back, and began to leave, when suddenly, she turned around.

"Ooo, I like it when they play rough. How about round two?" Absalom tore his shirt off, exposing his stitched, multi colored muscles. His wild golden hair, lion mouth, and crimson eyes tied together gave off an air of savagery.

Absalom pounced off the floor, and began to prowl toward Nojiko with his shoulders hunched.

"Stop!" Lola interposed herself between Absalom and Nojiko, arms spread wide.

"Out of my way thick lips!" Absalom growled.

"If you're going to marry anyone, marry me! I offer myself up for tribute!" Lola took steps toward Absalom, making a kissy face.

Recoiling in horror, Absalom lost his momentum, and fell to the ground.

"S-stay back!" Crawling backwards, Absalom made to put as much distance as he could from him and Lola. In the end, he put himself between Lola and Kuro.

"Huh?" Before he had time to react, Kuro's lips were sealed against Lola's.

"This is sooo sick." Blue stood to the side, lost in fascination by the turn of events.

Meanwhile, Nojiko fell to the floor, and became a crying mess of depression.

"Uwu, Nami, how could I let you go like that? You're my baby sister, all I have worth living for, and you almost died for my sake. I'm sorry mom, Nami, everyone!"

During Nojiko's crying session, Kuro tried to pry himself away from Lola, but it was to no avail. The East Blue pirate was much to weak to escape someone of the Charlotte bloodline.

"Now, where is my angel?" Dusting himself off, Absalom looked around the room, only to be pushed back onto the ground. A soft, spongy weight had been placed on his lap.

"Hey, what's going-gmph!" Absalom went star eyed as Nojiko's tongue entered his mouth.

Tears streaming down her eyes, Nojiko proceeded to hungrily kiss, Absalom. Her teeth frequently went to nibbling his lion lips, and ears. She rubbed her chest aggressively against his, and grinded into him.

Every time Nojiko was about to open her mouth and say something, she would freeze up, then shiver uncontrollably while fresh tears would spring from her eye. All the while, she kept up with her lurid acts.

Absalom's original look of extreme lust had died down when he saw the state she was in.

"Hey baby, what's got you so sad about? I wasn't _really _going to do anything, honest. It was just playing, I follow Captain's orders to the letter, you were in no trouble. C'mon, don't cry." At a loss for what to do, Absalom tried to comfort the distraught young woman.

Nojiko stopped her grinding and kissing. Sobbing, she poured her heart out, clutching onto Absalom's chest like a baby crying out for attention.

"It's, it's, I'm so sad! *Hic* Nami, the villagers, _Mom_, I couldn't do anything to protect them! I thought I could, I could do something, maybe raise enough money for a bounty hunter! Or maybe sell my body to the fishman or those Marines…All I am is a tangerine farmer! Just some stupid powerless girl on a tiny unimportant island in the middle of nowhere. I can't do anything to protect the people I love!"

"Hey, hey Nojiko-chan, I can protect you! What fishman? What Marines? Can't you feel how strong these arms are?" Absalom placed one of Nojiko's hands onto his bicep, and flexed.

Nojiko lifted her chin, and looked into Absalom's eyes.

Absalom looked down with a kind smile.

"Maybe-"

"Get your lion paws off her you two timer!" Lola pried Nojiko off of Absalom.

"Let's get out of here Nojiko, we'll be safe from this guy's grubby hands back at Perona's place. She'll protect our womanhood!" Lola dashed out of the map covered war room in big strides.

"Don't go." Absalom's soft voice sounded out in the large room.

"What a vile creature." A bedraggled Kuro began to furiously wipe away lipstick marks from his face and neck.

Gone from the war room, and heading toward the Wonder Garden, Lola looked down at Nojiko.

"Nojiko, what happened?! I thought you said you were out of there!"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Nojiko hesitantly answered.

"I, I don't know. One moment, I was walking away, the next, it felt like, no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't move. After that, I kept remembering my failures, how I couldn't protect my friends or family…I, I need some time to think about it, I'm sorry." Lost in her memories, Nojiko turned silent, and turned away from Lola.

"Okay Nojiko, something similar happened to me just recently too. I'm here if you need to talk." Lola kept up her sprint to the Wonder Garden, lost in thought about her own crew and their fate.

* * *

"Horo horo horo, did you see her face? Did you see the look on that harlot's face Otou-san? Did you? Did you? Acting all high and mighty, she got what she deserved! Horo horo horo!" Perona turned to me, full of laughter and smiles.

"Ki shi shi shi, nothing is more satisfying than seeing someone get their comeuppance. Seeing the target of your revenge fail before your eyes is oh so satisfying. You did a good job controlling your hollows. Each time she wanted to speak up, and resist, she was fraught with depression. You make me proud Perona, you're a good girl." Reaching out, I gave her a pat on the head.

"And you! I didn't know Otou-san could connect your shadow like that and move someone, so cool!"

She suddenly jumped up, and gave me a bear hug. Ears burning with embarrassment, she quickly ran off.

Heh heh, Nami almost caused me to become an enemy with the World Government when she stole from my vault. Turnaround is a bitch.

Nojiko did have a point, she wasn't strong enough. Strong as I was, it was almost all my devil fruit. I had much more to do if I wanted to be in any kind of position to seize destiny by the reigns.

Blindfold on, and observation haki activated, I whistled a merry tune. I couldn't wait.

* * *

**AN: It's somewhat annoying fleshing out the side characters, but one of the largest complaints I see in the reviews of many stories is weak supporting cast. This is my attempt. **

**That poll that I have up is coming to a close. "Absalom x true love with a village girl" has won. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Tequila Wolf**

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

FIRE FIST ACE

550,000,000

"Still at five hundred fifty million." Overlooking the bridge of Tequila Wolf, Chief of Staff and second in command of the revolutionary army Sabo crumbled the newspaper up, and tossed it away in disgust.

"The government fears him. If they raise his bounty, they'll only raise his notoriety. Many people are eager for the kind of stability a Pirate King would bring to the Grand Line. A higher bounty would confirm the governments fear, people would join him in droves." Deputy Commander of East Blue, Ahiru stated from the side. Her long brown hair, and green greatcoat fluttering in the snowy wind.

"Tch, that glory hogging prima donna doesn't need a high bounty to recruit the masses. And you're dead wrong Ahiru if you think people would join him for stability. Their greed and pride will see them join up, more than anything. The week and the cowardly will flock to his cause. Better the riff raff of society join a pirate's crew then embark on our crusade." The busty purple haired revolutionary general, Belo Betty stomped on the newspaper, grinding it into a pulpy mush on the snow slicked cobblestone.

Sabo frowned, and then smiled. "Harsh words Betty, but you're not wrong. Ace loves his glory, but he's a good man. He won't let just anyone join his crew. I just hope he's okay since Whitebeard died…"

Inhaling her cigarette, Betty turned to her deputy. "Okay, enough lollygagging around. I don't care about Ace or whatever, we have a job to do people. Ahiru, make sure the people we rescued are warm, and well fed. I won't have anyone dying on me. And another thing, I want those people evacuated yesterday. Our navigators said a storm is brewing, and we don't know when the Marines will show up. It's only a matter of time before trouble comes to our doorstep."

"Yes ma'am, right away!" Saluting with her mechanical arm, Ahiru rushed to get things done.

"We may not have to wait for the Marines. Something far worse has come to our shores. Ahiru, double time on those evacuations! Things are about to get messy!" Gripping his pipe, Sabo prepared himself for a fight.

Within the snow swept ocean, three massive masts adorned with equally large sails, dwarfing the height of Tequila Wolf came into view. Following that, a gargantuan boat emerged from the hazy flurry of snow and sleet. Large smiling lips were at the forefront of the ship. As the behemoth approached, the lips opened wide. The sound of chains straining, clicking, creaking, and clacking sounded out for kilometers. When the lips reached their apex, hundreds of rowboats emerged. Each rowboat carried a dozen men, furiously paddling towards Tequila Wolf.

"You recognize their colors?" Betty narrowed her eyes, observing Sabo's clenched jaw, and tense shoulders.

"How could I not? A skull in the middle of batwings. That's the same bastard who conquered my home town. That's the Shichibukai. _Gecko Moria_."

Soon after Sabo's declaration, a figure launched itself from the central mast. Standing on a platform made of shadows, it flew above the bridge of Tequila Wolf.

"He looks nothing like his wanted poster, I can't wait to go a few rounds with him." Betty licked her lips.

"His victory over one of the Whitebeard Commanders was no accident Betty. We have to take this seriously." Sabo replied in reproach.

"Ohh is that jealousy I hear? Don't worry your cute little blonde head off, I'll pump you up any day." Betty traced a finger down her exposed stomach, and blew smoke rings Sabo's way.

"Focus, he's about to say something."

"People of Tequila Wolf. A ring of steel surrounds your rotting city. Turn over Nico Robin, or suffer a fate worse than your conditions under the World Nobles. We will crush all who dare to resist the will of the Thriller Bark Pirates. _This is your only warning. _Abandon your posts! Abandon your homes! ABANDON ALL HOPE! URAA!" The high pitched voice of a tall, pale, and muscular Gecko Moria echoed from a den den mushi.

"URA! URA! URA! URAAAAAAA!" Hundreds of voices echoed from the fast approaching boats.

"Are you chicken shits just going to stand there and watch? Open fire!" Waving her flag, and buffing her allies with the pump-pump fruit, Betty directed her subordinates to shoot at Moria.

A hundred rifles cracked nonstop headed Moria's way.

In response, a curved shield intercepted the shots, nullifying their velocity. Seconds later, a mass of shadow bullets raced out of the shield, and struck each of the gunmen.

Despite being shot by a shadow bullet, each of the gunmen raised their rifles, and continued to fire.

"It's just a flesh wound, keep firing guys!" A man with his guts spilling across the ground shouted out encouragement. He picked his gun up off the floor, and joined in.

One revolutionary who had holes out the back of his lungs, wheezing blood stood his ground, rifle in hand.

Another, her jaw blown off, and raw bloody tongue exposed to the elements continued to shoot her gun.

Similar scenes of likewise mortally wounded revolutionaries gripping their weapons in determination was common place. Under the effects of the pump-pump fruit, only those who had their brains blown out stopped fighting.

"I'm going to flank him, cover me. **Dragons Tread**." Leaping into the sky, Sabo performed a technique similar to geppo, and jumped into the frigid sky.

Within seconds, Sabo appeared behind Moria. His pipe swung full force at the back of Moria's head.

The shadow behind Moria roiled, and a series of spears jettisoned upwards towards Sabo.

"Lookout behind you!" Betty screamed.

*thwump* snowflakes destabilized and scattered away from the epicenter of the attack.

Sabo gave up on his swing and dodged to the side barely in time. His hat had been torn to shreds, exposing his messy blonde hair.

Without allowing Sabo any time for respite, Moria launched shadow bullets and javelins from above, below, and side to side. He began to gain more altitude. Moria put distance between the two without relenting in his attack. Flying into the approaching storm. His figure was barely visible. Only the occasional lighting brightening his figure gave any indication to his location.

"Enough!" Sabo yelled.

Empowering his pipe with haki, Sabo began to beat back the shadowy assault. Ignoring the attack coming from below, and the sides, Sabo tore through the shadows in his front. His ascension was like a rocket moving at peak velocity.

Almost upon Moria, Sabo gasped, depression filled his lungs.

Tiny smiling ghosts floated around Sabo.

"Negative, negative." They circled him, and taunted his state of being.

"It's time to PUMP. YOU! **UP!**" Betty waved her flag, buffing Sabo.

Seeing his depression disappear, the ghosts surrounding Sabo frowned, and flew at him.

*Boom boom boom*

Several loud explosions came from Sabo's position. A mushroom cloud of snow and debris swirled from his position, obfuscating any vision. Soon after, a swarm of javelins rained down from Moria's position into the cloud.

*Clang clang clang*

Pinging noises emanated from the cloud. The flash of an object madly swinging could vaguely be seen within.

The javelins rained down in an unrelenting mass. More and more made their way in. The shots from below had finally caught up, and punched through the cloud like a toothpick in styrofoam.

Gritting his teeth, Sabo kept up his momentum, jumping like he never had before. The attacks coming his way were faster than he was. Every step he took included a dozen defensive strikes from his pole. Every step he took, more and more of his clothing was cut to pieces. He began to rely more and more on his observation haki to see him through.

_Right!_ Sabo pushed out with his right hand, forcing his body violently to the left.

_Above! _He curled his body, and somersaulted an attack that would decapitate his head.

_Below! _Encasing his foot in haki, Sabo stomped on the javelin, canceling out the attack.

"Negative, negative" Hundreds of negative ghosts flew into the area, detonating seemingly at random. Large flashes of light swept the location.

_Above! Right! Below! Left! _Simultaneous attacks approached Sabo from all angles.

"**Dragons Roar!**" Sabo roared into the storm. The attacks surrounding Sabo shattered like glass.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stop. Not a single attack came Sabo's way for ten seconds.

"Ten seconds. Ten seconds is all I needed to get to the eye of this storm. I need to end this fight quickly. I used a lot of stamina to get here." Grim faced, Sabo empowered both his feet, and moved at yet an even faster pace.

Breaking into the eye of the storm, Sabo's eyes widened.

Arms crossed, Moria stood with a smirk. The smile stretched further, exposing his square jawline, and sharp shark like teeth. His coat, and flame red hair fluttered in the wind. Circling around him, ten gyrating shadow javelins shook and shivered. A constant flow of shadows flew from Moria into the javelins, compressing them further and further. Despite the rapid compression, the javelins were gaining in thickness. Concurrently, the speed of their rotation was such that they were awash with flames.

"Welcome, to your doom."

* * *

"Look, could you please hand over Nico Robin to us? Moria-sama said he'd end this assault as soon as she was in our custody. There's no reason we have to fight!" Kenji, clad in his black mushroom armor yelled out to Betty.

"Not a chance pirate scum! Revolutionaries don't rat each other out. Charge!" Betty jumped towards Kenji, encasing her flag with haki.

"Dodge Kenji-san!" Golass jumped in between Betty's attack, blocking with his sword.

"Golass!" Kenji screamed out, as Golass was pummeled into a crater. Blood leaked from his mouth and nose. His eyes rolled over, passing out.

"Weak as usual, I see brat." Saga spat to the side in disgust.

"This woman speaks one language. Violence. Something I'm particularly adept at."

Saga launched a flame inferno from his sword.

At the same time, Kenji launched his own strike.

"Green Mushroom Series: Canon." Slipping out of the black mushroom armor, Kenji took aim, launching a rocket.

"Tch, out of my way brat. This fight will make me stronger as a warrior. I don't need you interfering." Scowling, Saga followed up his flame attack, charging forward with his sword pointed out.

"Hmph, I expected better from a Shichibukai's crew." Betty casually walked out of the blasts sent her way, and collided with Saga's sword.

"This is only the beginning." Saga launched lighting fast jabs, followed up with plenty of slashes.

"Oh?" Meeting his sword, Betty deflected each strike Saga sent her way.

A minute later, Betty roughly shoved Saga back, then clobbered him across the chin with the tip of her flagpole. Crashing through a mob of zombies and revolutionaries battling it out, Saga created a furrow in the bridge. His body plowed both stone and flesh.

"I humored him because I thought there'd be a challenge. How disappointing." Betty tossed out her near finished cigarette, and lit a new one.

"You won't disappoint me, now will you little boy? Can you outlast your silver haired friend? Or maybe you golden man. You're the biggest here. Put that size to use already!"

"No, it would be no fun fighting you all one on one. I know! Let's make it a threesome!" Waving her flag, Betty pumped Saga up, empowering him with her devil fruit.

"There we go, it wouldn't be a proper beatdown unless I could smash all three of you at the same time. Prepare yourself, I'm coming!" Betty licked her lips, and dashed toward El Drago.

"Hey guys, I know Moria wanted to test us and everything, but maybe we should grab Fu Manchu and Captain John for backup!" El Drago cried out.

"Don't just stand there, scream at her!" Kenji shouted at El Drago, RPG launching green mushroom charges over and over again.

"AWWWWW!" El Drago wailed.

Flung backward by the sonic attack, Betty was all smiles.

"That was _so_ metal. You should join the revolutionaries, forget being a pirate."

"R-really? You think I could? What's the pay like?"

Betty's smile deepened. "Oh sure, the pay's great. You get all the gratitude in the world from the people we've saved. Rescuing people from tyranny, from slavery is a revolutionaries ideal. The only pay we need is knowing you've done a good job."

"Ehh, no gold? Sorry, not interested." El Drago had a look of disgust on his face at her proposal.

"Wait, a, that's what a revolutionary is? Then can the revolutionaries help save my-" Kenji began before Saga ran in.

"Die!" Muscles bulging, breath ragged, and silver hair fluttering wildly in the wind, Saga sliced downward forcefully.

"Mmm, that had some sting to it!" Betty entered a power clash with Saga. Arms trembling, she was slowly pushed back, sliding on the slippery ice covered cobblestone.

"But still not good enough!" Betty used her haki once more to push Saga back.

However, expecting this move, Saga took the momentum of the strike to do a front flip. Behind her now, Saga shoved his sword backward. Betty barely turned around to block the strike.

"Ah~ not so rough."

Saga's sword was blocked by Betty's flagpole, however, it slipped upward, piercing her shoulder blade.

"You like it rough, but how about charred?" Saga's face was fixed in an animalistic snarl.

The same pulsating green energy that surrounded his eyes spread to his sword. Green flames scourged Betty's body, and into her bloodstream.

An indescribable high pitched scream came from Betty. Her whole body was awash with flame. She coated herself in haki, and violently rolled in the snow snuffing the fire out.

"YOU!" Betty jumped from the snow, and flung herself at Saga.

Despite her crisped outfit, nudity and blackened skin, Betty stood tall.

Strength radiated from her every strike. Soon, Saga was smashed so hard, he crashed through the bridge, and into the icy waters kilometers below.

"So, do you really save the-" Kenji began, only to be interrupted again.

"You're still here? I'm going to kill you, and wear your entrails!" Betty screamed in anger.

"But, but…" Kenji held out his hand.

*slap*

"Snap out of it kid, she's going to wear our entrails, call for help! Do something!" El Drago turned to Kenji in panic.

Seeing little to no response, El Drago steadied his nerves. 'First I lose to that rubber kid. Next I lose my crew, Golass, and all that gold. Then I have to deal with an asshole boss, and even another asshole boss! Fuck you rubber guy, fuck you Moria, fuck you Saga, and fuck this big tits bitch who won't pay him! Why did I even become a pirate? Why? Because, because I want. I WANT.'

"**I WANT GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLDDDDD!**" Fed up with the events of his life, sadness, anger, greed, and a whole host of powerful emotions invaded El Drago's psyche. All these pent up emotions led to his most powerful scream yet.

A beam of yellow luster launched from El Drago's mouth. Larger than any kamehamaha, faster than Kizaru's strikes, this emotion filled attack launched straight into the fast approaching Betty.

Going on for kilometers, this very same scream launched into the bridge. Large sections of bridge collapsed as far as the eye could see.

"**DDDddd **hah hah hah. No one. No one will take my gold." Panting, and holding his knees, the exhaustion from using such a powerful attack, and the weight of his gold armor caught up to him. El Drago fell to the ground face. He was soon snoring, unconscious.

"I thought only Moria could do stuff like that." Kenji blinked, shock and surprise clear on his face.

After a moment of respite, the rubble where Betty had been began to shift. Climbing out of the pile, a grotesque thing of loose, shriveled and blackened skin flopped onto its back.

"What do you know, not only are you the biggest, but you know how to use it too." Betty's voice weakly came from the shriveled corpselike figure.

Back to the ground, Betty looked into the sky just in time to see Sabo's body, bloody and torn tumbling in the wind towards the ocean.

"NO!" Gritting her teeth, Betty stood up. She began to wave her hand, and pump up Sabo.

*crack*

The sound of a sniper shot rang in the rubble strewn former bridge.

An invisible haki encased bullet found its way into Betty's head, silencing her forever.

* * *

"Purrur purru purru" Every den den mushi for kilometers around Tequila Wolf rang at the same time. Every den den mushi that received this call automatically picked up.

"This is the voice of freedom. Supreme Commander Dragon speaking. People of Tequila Wolf. I have returned. By the grace of almighty Kami, our forces stand again on World Government soil. Soil consecrated in the blood of our two people. We have come, dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives. And of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of your people.

The hour of your redemption is here. Your patriots have demonstrated an unswerving and resolute devotion to the principles of freedom that challenges the best that is written on the pages of human history. I now call upon your supreme effort that the enemy may know on the temper of an aroused and outraged people within, no less violent than the force committed without.

Rally to me! Let the indomitable spirit of the revolutionary army lead on. As the lines of battle roll forward, rise and strike. Strike at every favorable opportunity! For your homes and hearts, strike! For future generations of your sons and daughters, strike! In the name of your sacred dead, strike! Let no heart be faint, let every arm be steel. Follow, in Kame's name against the heavens themselves in righteous victory."

At the end of the address, every zombie stood ramrod still. Moving as one, they scrambled for the rowboats, running in retreat.

"C'mon kid, let's get out of here! And someone fish up Saga!" Gripping Betty's corpse on one shoulder, and hauling Kenji on the other, Absalom turned invisible, and fled back to Thriller Bark.

* * *

**AN: Moria has a new look. For all you mobile readers, the pic is on the desktop version. There's some seriously bad/lack of fanart for Moria. Feel free to google images that guy, it's awful. **

**I kind of wanted some more dialogue between Moria/Sabo, but figured it'd detract from Moria's entrance. Make an ALS Pirates joke, note how Sabo isn't very strong without a DF, and get Sabo to become rash by mentioning his parents. I don't think too much was lost tbh. **

** Spiderfan, make an account so I can pm you next time you have a question/response, haha. I'll reply on open forum just this once. As a reader, I always thought lengthy AN's were an eyesore, responses even more so. The answer is maybe. I had thought about it before you mentioned them believe it or not. I give Moria a **_**very **_**healthy amount of plot armor. If Moria obtains the six powers, he's going to have to earn it. **


End file.
